Me, myself and Turtles
by Who am I. Well. I'm just Me
Summary: "Growing up with four guys has been quite a challenge to me. I am sure my 'new brothers' would love to share tons of stories about me as an older sister but this is my story! They can write their own elsewhere!" -Based on the 2k3-2k7CG movie ONLY. Rated T for language- You've been warned.
1. And so it begins

"_Growing up with four guys has been quite a challenge to me. I am sure my _"new brothers"_ would love to share tons of stories about me as an older sister but this is_ my_ story! They can write their own elsewhere!"_

Who re-read the first lines and smiled to herself. "Alright, that sounds like a good start"

"Good start for what?" Came a voice from behind. The dark haired girl turned around to face a curious pair of blue eyes.

Michelangelo smiled at her, soda in hand. "Are you writing a new story?" He asked.

"Mikey, what have I told you about going ninja on me while I'm working?" The girl asked; her face expressionless.

"Uh… I… don't remember?" He said trying to look innocent.

Who narrowed eyes but continued to stare at the young ninja. The silence was starting to be a little uncomfortable for the orange-clad turtle so he gave a loud slurp to his soda while still staring into the girl's dark orbs.

"So… is it about super heroes?" Mikey insisted. "Or maybe is a drama! Oh, I know! It's a drama about super heroes!"

Sighing in exasperation, Who closed her laptop lid, got to her feet and went to the stair taking the gadget with her.

Mikey rushed his steps, tossing his soda can behind him, and blocked Who's path. "Hey, wait up! You haven't told me about your story!"

"If you wanted to know so badly, you should have asked in the first place instead of sneaking up on me. I hate that" Who replied, then swiftly walked around the turtle.

"Oh, c'mon Whoey! How was I supposed to know it was so important?"

"Michelangelo, you should know by now all my stories are important" Who said. "Especially if they are about my family"

As the dark haired girl continued her way upstairs, Mikey stood there dumbfounded looking at her back while she went up to the second floor and to her personal haven: her bed room.

His blue eyes opened like saucers when his mind finally allowed him to understand the meaning of Who's words.

"Does that mean you're writing about us?" The nunchack wielder asked excitedly. "Is it about our origins? Or maybe about our fights with the Shredder… or you're gonna write about how awesomely handsome I am?"

The girl turned around and gave the curious turtle a soft smile. "Probably"

Before Mikey could ask for more, Who closed up the door and locked it; she mentally thanked Donatello for upgrading her room with a personalized security system. Having a room of her own didn't exactly mean she was safe so she had asked the genius of the Hamato clan if something could be done to keep intruders away… most likely Mikey.

The girl hummed thoughtfully. "That kinda gives me an idea"

She opened her laptop lid and cracked her knuckles while she waited for the systems to finish loading and once everything was in order, she continued typing.

"_One of the blessings of being an only girl is having my own room; the downside of__ it is the lack of privacy. Boys, especially the youngest ones…" _

"Mikey, more specifically" She thought out loud.

"…_have a tendency to snoop around your belongings when you're the only female around and it seems like they're always trying to pull a prank on you"_

Who snickered. "Again, totally talking about Mikey here"

_"I know there are hundreds of blogs, web sites, books, you name it, about how to live with more than one boy in the same house and the pattern repeats: _

…

_1.- __Try to get along with your brothers; you might have fun__! But if this doesn't work move along to step 2._

_2.- __Ignore them__. Yes, it is likely you have heard it many times, but it works! They'll get tired of bothering you and will move along._

_3.- __Have fun doing things you want to do__. Don't let anything push you back!_

_4.- __If they still bother you tell a parent or trusted adult__. They should be able to help you._

…

_Now, hold it right there. _

_One would think those steps are useful to me… well, they sure aren't. Those steps might work if we're talking about a normal family, you know: mom, dad and kids. _

_Thing is, my "new family" is everything but normal"_

A loud crash interrupted her concentration and her curiosity made her close the laptop lid again to see what had just happened.

The screams she heard after she opened the door were very familiar to her, the angry red-clad turtle covered in weird stinky goo chasing a frightened but laughing Michelangelo was a familiar scene too; then there were the "mature" brothers running after the sai wielder to stop him from pummeling the youngest one, of course, and to top it all: Master Splinter standing tall at the dojo's entrance, his presence alone silencing the yells, insults and laughs.

After the never ending lecture and the dictated punishment, everything went back to normal; the lair was peaceful again as it nothing had happened.

Who went back to her bed and threw herself in the soft covers of her mattress.

"Ok, maybe we _are_ normal after all. Just a bit" She said to herself, the corner of her mouth quirking up in a small smile.

…

* * *

And so it begins.

Bunny was biting hard so I had to set it free otherwise it would've killed me. Literally.

Read and review and if you don't like it, read another story and take your hate elsewhere. And another thing:

**DO NOT go Nick on MY turtles. **

Either you take a good look at the 2k3 and 2k7 CG movie designs or you better don't bother reading this at all... and make sure you've read:

"Interview 1,2"

"Group interview"

"TMNT Chat"

"It's good to be home"

"It's ninja sleepover time"

"Who's back?"

"The turtle and the goddess"

"How did we meet?"and "The Phantom of the Sewers" **IN THAT ORDER** if you want to know who is... well..._ Who_.

I'm off to Equestria now. Read you later, folks.


	2. Sibling rivalry-Who's entry

_**Journal entry N°1: **_

_**Sibling rivalry.**_

"_While __many k__ids __are l__ucky __enough __to __become __the __best __of __friends with their siblings,__it's __common __for __them t__o __fight; it's __also __common __for __them __to __swing __back a__nd forth between adoring a__nd d__etesting __one __other and, of course, it can be very frustrating and upsetting to hear -and watch- brothers fighting one another…"_

…

* * *

_**9:30 am**_

_**Location: Dojo**_

…

"That will be enough. Training is finished for this morning" Splinter announced hitting his walking stick against the dojo mats.

"About time! Can I go back to bed now? I'm dead on my feet!" Mikey whined.

"You wouldn't be so tired if you hadn't stayed up all night for that movie marathon" Don replied.

"Hey, I couldn't possibly miss all the classics!"

"Michelangelo, a ninja in training needs rests if he is to succeed in battle" Splinter stated. "That goes for you too, Donatello"

"Wait, what? Why?" The genius turtle asked shocked.

"I am well aware that you were working on the BattleShell until late at night even though I told you not to"

"But Sensei-"

Splinter held up his paw and Donatello grew silent. "Tonight, you and Michelangelo will train an extra hour as punishment"

Mikey and Don lowered their heads. "Yes, Sensei" They said in unison.

Splinter's ears perked up at the sound of giggling coming from his red-clad son. "And same punishment goes for you as well, Raphael"

The sai wielder's brow furrowed. "Hold it, what did I do know? I wasn't sleepy!"

"Yet your moves were sloppy at the beginning of your sparring match and do not try to deny the fact that you were outside last night and came back past your curfew. For that reason, you shall train an extra hour as well"

"Shit" Raph cursed between gritted teeth. Unfortunately, Splinter's hearing was very sharp.

"Two hours… I have already warned you about using such foul language in our home"

"Sensei, that's not fair!" Raph replied.

"Do you want it to be three?" Splinter said in a serious voice.

Sighing in frustration, Raph looked downwards. "No, Master Splinter"

"Very well. You are dismissed, my sons" With that said, Splinter made his way outside the dojo.

"I'm guessing that means no pizza round tonight" Who said, receiving a negative head shake from Don and Mikey.

"I told you Splinter would be mad…_but_… no one ever listens to me as usual. I should be used to that by now" She added as she put the weapons back in place.

While the others cleaned up the dojo, a very angry Raphael approached Leonardo. Grabbing his brother by the shoulder, Raph spun him around in one swift move.

"It was you, wasn't it?" He hissed.

Leo looked at him in puzzlement "Say what?"

"Don't play coy with me!" Raph growled, pushing Leo hard against the wall. "You just _had _to tell Splinter, didn't you? Can't keep your mouth closed or even come up with a good story"

"If this is about your little escapade, then I'll tell you Splinter asked and I gave him a sincere answer" Leo replied. "Unlike you, I would never lie to Father"

Mikey glanced towards his brothers' direction. "Uh oh… this is gonna get ugly"

Don nodded. "Tell me about it"

"Oh, so now you're calling me a liar!" Raph spat out angrily.

Leo narrowed eyes. "It was _you _who said it, not me"

The sai wielder growled loudly and aimed his fist at the blue-clad turtle's face but before he could throw the first punch, he felt arms holding him back.

"Donnie, let go off me!"

"Hitting Leo won't solve anything, Raph"

"Yeah, you're just gonna get us in more trouble with Splinter!" Mikey seconded his genius brother.

Raphael shrugged off Don's hands roughly and glared at Leonardo. "I ain't done with you, Fearless" He threatened before living the room as fast as he could.

During the whole fight, Who remained frozen in the centre of the dojo, observing the whole scene develop before her eyes. She looked at the turtles brothers go parted ways with sad eyes.

"This is not exactly the way I wanted to start the day" She said to herself and minutes later, she left the place as well to get ready for work.

…

* * *

"…_A houseful that's full of conflict is stressful for everyone yet often is hard to know how to stop the fighting and or even whether you should get involved at all._

_While it may be common for siblings to fight, it's certainly not pleasant for anyone in the house. _

_And a family can only tolerate a certain amount of conflict.__…"_

…

* * *

_**19:45 pm**_

_**Location: Kitchen**_

…

The lair was strangely silent when Who came back from work. The only sound was coming from the kitchen where she saw Michelangelo preparing dinner. As she got closer to him, she noticed the prankster's face was gloom but also reflected fear.

"Hey Mikey" Who greeted him softly. The latter almost dropped the pot with scalding hot water because of the shock.

"H-hi Whoey! You… s-startled me"

The girl looked at him in worry. "Are you alright, Mike? You look tense"

The orange- clad turtle put the pot in the counter and sighed. "I'm bracing myself for the explosion. It's gonna happen anytime soon"

"Raph is still mad at Leo, huh?"

"It's more than that" Mikey replied. "In breakfast, Raph was stabbing his apple and I could swear he was thinking that was Leo's face"

"O…k? That's kinda exaggerated" Who commented.

"Wait, it gets worse! They had to do the dishes together… and Raph wasn't letting go of the knives!"

The girl chuckled. "Uh, don't you think it's because they were really dirty?"

"No, no, no! You gotta listen to me, Whoey! I've lived with Leo and Raph long enough to know he's just fueling up for tonight's training session and to top it all… Raphie hasn't touched his punching bag!"

Who arched a brow. "And that's bad because?"

"HE'S GONNA USE LEO AS HIS PUNCHING BAG AND MAYBE AS A PINCUSHION TOO!" Mikey yelled while grabbing the girl by the shoulders and shaking her like a rag doll.

"I still don't get why you said you were waiting for an explosion" Who commented after freeing herself from Mikey's shaky hands.

"Thing is I put a spider on Raph's bed so when he finds it, he won't be able to bottle up his anger anymore and instead of half killing Leo, he'll just go after me" The young ninja gulped loudly. "I just hope I can survive the beating"

"That's a… sick but noble sacrifice. However, things doesn't have to be that way"

Mikey rolled his eyes. "Well, what else do you suggest I can do?"

"Not you. Me" Who smiled. "I'm gonna talk to them"

"Are you insane? That's suicide, girl!"

Who chuckled. "Nonsense, I'll be fine. Now, I'll just need Donnie's bo staff in case your brothers need a good hit up the head. Where is he anyway?"

"In his lab" Mikey said and then sighed heavily. "He's been moody and stressed all day"

"How so?"

"Every time those two get in a fight, his brain can't handle the pressure so he stays in there because is soundproof"

Who frowned. "That's it. I'm definitely going in"

She made her way to the dojo where she could hear Leo practicing his katas when suddenly she felt a three fingered hand taking hers, stopping her from moving further.

"I'm telling you, sis. It's a bad idea" Mikey insisted.

"And do you think pulling a prank on Raph so he can vent out on you will make things better?"

The nunchack wielder leaned his head to the side sheepishly; Who had a point, he knew, but sending the girl as peace liaison was too risky. A hand on his cheek made Mikey look back at the girl's dark eyes.

"Trust me, Mikey. I won't let things get out of hand" She said reassuringly.

Seeing himself defeated, the young turtle let go off Who's hand. "I sure hope so; I'm sick of those two arguing for stupid things"

The girl smiled. "Why don't you take Don outside for a while? You know, get some fresh air while I sort things out here"

Mikey nodded in agreement and went to find his purple-clad brother. "You sure you can handle it, sis?"

"Absolutely"

The turtles and girl parted ways: Don and Mikey got their Father's approval to visit the local junkyard while he went to O'Neil's place for her lessons. With them gone, it was time to get down to business.

But little did Who know that things weren't going to be as simple as she pictured them.

…

* * *

"…_Remember that whenever is possible: _

_DO NOT GET INVOLVED IN A SIBLING'S FIGHT._

_Seriously, you will only make things worse. But i__f you already did get involved and the fight is verbal, try to work as a mediator instead of a judge…"_

…

* * *

After taking a deep breath, Who opened the shoji door.

The blue-clad ninja had blindfolded himself using his own mask and dodged the sandbags that came his way skillfully; this was definitely _not _exactly the best moment to disturb the clan leader but if it wasn't now, then when?

"Leo, I know you're busy and all… but may I have a word with you?"

"Sure" The sword wielder said while he stabbed the last sandbag. Then, he fixed his mask and re-sheathed his katanas. "Need something?"

"Yeah, we should talk about what happened this morning" Who started.

Leo tensed up. "I don't think that's a good idea"

"Please, maybe I can help you… and Raph of course"

"There's nothing to talk about; Raph simply hates my guts, Who! And only because I didn't lie for him" Leo replied. "He knows I can't lie to Splinter"

"Cuz you're the teacher's pet, you'll always be" A gruff voice came from the dojo's entrance.

"_Bad timing" _Who thought. "Leo, let me handle this"

"Raph, I honestly didn't know you were gone. What else was I supposed to say?" Leo said to his brother, pointedly ignoring Who.

"Oh, I don't know. How about… you could've just acted like a brother for once in your life and cover me up! Is that so much to ask for?" Raph replied, stepping inside the dojo.

"You could've been in danger!"

"I can take care of myself, oh Fearless one!"

"Guys, we won't get anything solved here if you start yelling" Who tried to interfere. "Raph, you may feel betrayed but you know how Leo is. He cares about you and-"

"-you wanna know what Leo really is? A snitch! He ain't happy enough being teacher's pet so he had to become a snitch!"

"How can I be a snitch if I didn't know you were out? Which means I didn't have any information to give to Splinter; I just told him the truth! Learn your words before you use them, hothead!"

Who glared at him. "Leonardo, that was so uncalled for!"

"I'll show you hothead, asshole!"

In less than a blink, Raphael pulled out his sais and charged towards his brother who waited for him, swords ready.

"GUYS, WAIT!" Who yelled but the brothers weren't listening anymore.

Grunts, growls and the sound of metal clashing against metal was the only thing echoing in both their heads.

"Stay out of this if you don't want to get hurt, Who!" Leo warned, blocking Raph's sais.

"For once I agree with Fearless" Raph grunted, locking his weapons with Leo's blades.

…

* * *

"…_If things DO get __physical, it's time to go to plan B: immediately separate them and send both to a time out._

_Considering that once Leo and Raph start fighting not even Splinter can stop them, separating them can become a problem but once you manage to stop them, you have to make some sense into their heads. Another complicated task especially if your siblings are completely stubborn. _

_However, one must never stop trying…"_

…

* * *

The girl ran out of the dojo leaving the ninjas brothers to their fight. She pulled out her cell phone; surely Michelangelo and Donatello wouldn't be so far away from the lair to come back to her aid but she quickly casted off that idea.

"_I promised Mikey I could fix this, that things wouldn't get out of hands" _She thought. _"C'mon Who… think! There's gotta be a way to-"_

Her eyes landed on the bo staff and the lone nunchack leaning against the couch. Who took the wooden weapons and read the note glued on top of it.

_It's dangerous to go alone. Take this!_

_-Don & Mikey-_

The girl laughed. "Oh, you guys"

Back in the dojo, Leo and Raph panted heavily while sending deadly glares at each other; the sweat had drenched their masks and made their hands slippery causing the grip on their weapons to not be as firm as before. Their limbs screamed in exhaustion but they stood their ground trying to look as fierce as possible until the other surrendered.

Once more they charged though not as fast as before.

Out of nowhere a flying nunchack knocked both sais and katanas off their owners' hands, the chain wrapping both weapons together and landing at the other side of the dojo. Leo and Raph stared at each other in confusion when they both felt a something hard hitting their middle section leaving them breathless.

"The fuck was that!" Raph gasped out.

Leonardo coughed a couple of times before lifting his head to see a feminine silhouette standing in between them, bo staff in hand. "Hey, what's the big idea?!"

"Is this the way Splinter raised you up? Did he teach you that beating each other will solve your differences? Is that it?!"

"Who, this is not your-"

"This IS my problem too, Leonardo" The girl replied, pointing the bo at him. "This family's problems became MY problems the moment I started to live here"

"You can always leave" It came the reply from the other side of the dojo.

"Raphael, that's not-!" Leo began but Who gestured him to be silent.

"No, he's right" She walked towards the red-clad turtle and pointed the bo at his chest.

"I can leave whenever I want, Raph. I could leave this place right now if I wanted to but I won't"

"And why the hell not if you're so sick and tired of this?" The sai wielder growled.

"For the same reason Don and Mikey hadn't left…yet"

The ninja brothers looked at her questioningly; Who lowered the bo staff and sat down between Leo and Raph. Just because she had stopped them now it didn't mean they couldn't resume their fight anytime soon.

"Your fights affect Don and Mikey more than you think they do. Why do you guys think Don hides in his lab or leaves to the junkyard the moment you two start arguing? And Raph, why do you think Mikey is always pulling pranks on you… besides the fact that he gets bored easily?"

"Don might be a genius and works under pressure in most of your missions but he gets stressed easily when it comes to family quarrels so he locks himself in his little world. And as for Mikey, he told me he had recently pulled a prank on you so you could vent out on him instead of Leo. If he did that today, don't you think he has probably used this method before?"

"I… I thought he was just being annoying cuz he wanted to" Raph said after a long moment of silence.

"And I thought… Donnie… Aw dammit! How I never noticed it?" The leader lamented.

Who sighed. "If you keep this up, soon they'll get tired and they'll leave you. Both of you need to learn to solve your problems in a civilized way"

She turned to the sai wielder. "Raph, we all know you're a great fighter. You're brave and the strongest of the team but even the greatest have fallen. Someday you will end up badly injured and your family will never know where to find you. So if you want to go out, at least leave a message"

The red-clad turtle tsked and looked away but clearly, the lecture was starting to sink in. Then, Who turned to face the sword wielder.

"Leo, I understand that as the eldest, you're responsible for your family's safety and you care about your brothers' lives even more than your own but you have to understand that your brothers are not helpless; they're trained ninjas and they can fight their battles. You need to have faith they will be safe when they're outside. Also, a white lie every now and then doesn't hurt anyone; next time Raph is outside and you don't know it, tell Splinter something believable and go after your brother. Ok?"

Leo sighed heavily and gave her a curt nod. Since Who felt it was safe to give both warriors a little time for themselves to think over her words, she stood up and walked away.

"I believe you two have some discussing to do. I'll leave you alone and after you have apologized to each other, you are free to come out"

Keeping her poker face, she left the dojo and closed the shoji behind her; just before that, she could allow herself to let out the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding.

"_Well, now it's all up to them"_ She said mentally.

…

Not much time had passed when Who heard the shoji doors opening again; she would've never expected Leonardo and Raphael coming out after the first 10 minutes but surprisingly, they did.

They didn't look angry but they weren't smiling either. The solemn expression in their faces brought out so many questions in the dark haired girl's head: Did her words fall in deaf ears? Did she do more damage than good?

"I… we… we've been thinking about what you said, Who" Leo said, taking a seat beside the girl.

"I know even with my strength, I can't take down all the scum in the streets" Raph continued. "But that doesn't mean I'll be reckless in purpose and die in some shitty alley without letting my family know where to find me; I know my limits… though it _was_ pretty stupid to go out like that and make everyone worried" He admitted.

"And I have never doubted of my brothers' abilities" Leo carried on. "I trust them, have faith in them and know that their skills are superb. However, they're the only brothers I have. I could never live with myself if something happens to them… which brings out Don and Mikey's situation"

"We can't promise this won't happen again" Raph stated firmly. "Fearless has a tendency to push my buttons more than once in a day and well… I can't blame the guy" He smirked.

"But we promise to keep it not so loud or violent with Don and Mikey here" Leo added.

Who blinked. "So this means you're done arguing for today?"

Both brothers glanced at each other and smiled. "Pretty much" They said in unison.

The dark haired girl let out her breath again, now more calmly. "Whew, mission accomplished!"

Leo chuckled. "That sounded like something Mikey would say"

Suddenly the elevator's door opened and the loud voice of certain orange-clad turtle could be heard.

"And speaking of the devil" Raph muttered.

"Hello? Is it safe to come in now?" Mikey said, only his head showing behind the doors.

"I don't know, is it safe to put a spider on my pillow and pretend you won't get away with it?" Raph said cracking his knuckled and smirking evilly.

"Uh, back to the junkyard!"

"Come back here, you lil' twerp!"

Leo shook his head. "Not this again" He mumbled and went after Raph.

The dark haired girl stared at the chase in progress with a big smile on her face and soon, Donatello joined her in the couch.

"I'm guessing Leo and Raph are at peace?"

Who nodded. "At least for the next 24 hours and by the way…" She pulled out the genius' bo staff and handed it back to him. "Thanks"

"No, thanks to you" Don smiled back. "But now seriously, did you hit them?"

Who chuckled. "Not as much as I wanted to but it wasn't really necessary. I just had to act like a good sister"

…

* * *

"…_Who knows! Maybe someday this sibling rivalry will come to a permanent end but for now, the Hamato household can be a peaceful place again"_

…

* * *

"YOU'RE SO GONNA GET IT WHEN I CATCH YOU, MIKEY!"

"THAT'S _IF _YOU CATCH ME, SNAIL BOY!"

…

* * *

"… _or at least as peaceful __as place full of boys _can be"

_**End of Journal entry N°1**_

* * *

...

First of all, I'd like to give a shout out to T-Girl. Today's her B-day.

Happy B-day, sis!

Also thanks to all of you who reviewed, I kindly appreciate them. Your reviews feed my muse!

Heh, it rhymed.

Now, this is not exactly a chapter-chapter story; it'll have some random topics and we'll get to see not only Who's journal entries but also the guys' journals entries so if you have suggestions for what should I write next, I'll gladly accept them.

Read you later!


	3. Teamwork-Who's entry

_**Journal entry N°2:**_

_**Teamwork **_

"_Teamwork is known as the __process __of __working __collaboratively with a group of people; e__ach person contributes with different skills and expresses his/her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals._

_During my time living with the Hamato brothers, I've noticed that the reason why most of their missions are successful is their efficient teamwork; at moments, it would appear that they synchronize their moves to attack as one. _

_However, there are times when the missions fail because someone decides to go solo instead of sticking to the team. But that's very much expected, you know?_

_After all, no team is perfect…"_

…

* * *

The leader of the clan had woken up early as usual; he stretched his arms lazily when suddenly a scream followed by the hissing and loud meowing of the family's cat startled him.

Jumping off the bed, he made his way to find the source of the loud noises.

Lucky for him, he didn't have to look around much.

With the orange tabby still clawing at his head and face, Raph came out of his room cursing and trying to pry the sharp claws free from his flesh.

"GET HIM OFF ME! GET THIS FLEA BAG OFF ME!"

Leo approached his brother trying to avoid his flailing arms. "Stay still! You're gonna hurt him!"

Very carefully, he grabbed Klunk by the scrub of his neck and the cat instantly froze consequently stopping his wild attack and unhooking his claws from the red-clad turtle's head.

"There. Feeling better?"

"I think my eyes are bleeding" Raph groaned while rubbing his orbs furiously.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a baby. He barely scratched you"

"Well, I'd like to see you-" Raph's reply died off the moment he turned to see his brother's face.

Leo blinked at Raph's sudden calmness. "What"

The sai wielder chortled and then roared in laughter. Leo looked at him feeling more confused by the second… and also a bit scared of his brother's bipolar behavior.

"Uh… are you alright?" He asked putting the feline down.

"I didn't know you and Who did makeovers to each other now" Raph managed to say between laughs.

"What are you-"

"Morning gu- HOLY CRAP! Leo, what happened to your face?!" Don asked in shock, almost dropping his mug full of steaming hot coffee.

"You know, you actually look kinda pretty with fake eyelashes" Raph continued.

Leo frowned. "Fake eyelashes?"

The blue-clad turtle ran to his room followed by a curious Don and a very amused Raph. He turned on the lights and looked at himself in the mirror, then narrowed his eyes and sighed heavily; Mikey had made a fine job putting lipstick, eye shadow, rouge and the fake eyelashes on his eldest brother. If he wasn't so angry at him, Leo would have praised his youngest brother for having used all his stealth to get inside his room and not wake him up while messing up with his face.

"This… this has Mikey's name all over it" He said, then turned to his brothers. "Where is he?"

"Don't you remember?" It was Don who talked now. "He stayed at LH's last night because he wanted his hover skateboard repaired immediately but I couldn't do it because I was busy and-"

"Yeah, whatever Don! Just call him and tell him to get his butt back home now!" Leo replied angrily.

"Aww, what's the matter? He forgot to do your nails and now you're mad at him, Fearless?" Raph teased.

"Very funny, Raph. And just for the record, your whole room smells like tuna and sardines which explains why Klunk was attacking you"

The red-clad ninja's smile dropped and he ran to his room hoping Leo was just teasing him back.

Ends up Leonardo wasn't teasing at all; the whole place had been smeared with tuna and fresh sardine. There were even some opened cans all over the floor.

"That little turd is _so_ gonna get it when I see him!" Raph growled, punching the wall in anger.

Both pranked turtles were so focused in their own ways to get back at Michelangelo that the scream coming from the room at the end of the hallway took them by surprise.

"That doesn't sound good" Don mumbled.

His suspects were confirmed when a feminine figure came out of the room soaked from head to toe in pink paint.

"Michelangelo. Must. Pay!" Who said through gritted teeth.

"That settles it! We gotta find Mikey and make him pay for what he did to us!" Raph said.

"Uhmm, us? I beg to differ but the only one who hasn't been pranked here is Master Splinter me… for obvious reasons… and me" Don replied with a smug smile and gave his coffee a long slurp.

The horrid taste of his beloved beverage made the resident genius spit it out in disgust and gag a couple of times.

"Let me guess… you just got pranked" Who remarked the obvious.

Growling low in his throat, Don sent deadly glares to an absent Michelangelo. "Nobody messes with my coffee. NOBODY!"

…

* * *

"…_Little sucker had done it. Big time. _

_How did he do it? _

_We had no idea and we couldn't have cared less at the moment, we just wanted to get him back. So we kinda came up with something good. _

_Or so we thought…"_

…

* * *

The Hamato brothers and Who had all agreed to get the little prankster back so for the following hours while they cleaned themselves and the mess the little prankster had done, their brains were working nonstop.

Once the place was clean enough, they all met back in the living room where they found Donatello hanging up the phone after talking to someone.

"Ok, I called LH and he says Mikey will be staying in his place till late this afternoon and Splinter won't come back from April's till late at night so I think we're good to go" Don informed.

"Why so eager, Brainiac? Can't handle a bit of mouthwash in your coffee?" Raph grinned.

"You know, I don't get why you bully us when _you_ got pranked in the grossest way" Don argued.

"Dulls the pain, I guess" Raph shrugged. "Also, I like bullying you. Problem?"

"Knock it off, ladies! You should be thinking on a good prank not exchanging boys' numbers or arguing who's the prettiest" Who replied in annoyance.

"Oh, _we_ know who's the prettiest. Right, Leo?" Raphael teased showing his blue-clad brother the fake eyelashes.

"Sure, want a pic so you can kiss and cuddle it?" Leo counterattacked.

"Why don't you just come over and do it personally since you're offering, sweetheart?"

Who chortled. "That was a good one… and I didn't get it on camera… Damn! Where's the camera when I need it?"

"Save it, Who. Or else Mr. Beauty Queen here will start a photo session for CoverGirl's new line for turtles"

"At least I don't smell like Whiskas and my own cat doesn't want to eat my face off!" Leo replied angrily.

"ENOUGH!" Don yelled silencing everyone in the room.

"Guys, we're getting off subject here! Leave your stupid insults for later, _after_ we make Mikey regret having pranked us!"

"Whoa, easy there tiger! We're all pissed off but you sound like you want Mikey's head on a plate or something" Who said.

"Besides, we have to admit Mikey's pranks are hilarious sometimes and… well, he hasn't really hurt any of us" Leo commented.

"But one day he will, Leo. Unwillingly, yes… but he will" Don replied.

"You know, I'm with Brainiac here. The little twerp has to learn he can't go pranking us and expect us to deal with it like nothing happened" Raph added.

"Raph, you_ do_ pummel him after he pranks you" Who pointed out.

"Well, apparently that ain't enough!" The sai wielder replied slamming a fist on the table.

"You know what? I think I have the perfect way to make Mikey regret his prank spree" Don said.

"Uhhh, I know that face" Who smirked. "It's something juicy, isn't it?"

"Better. I'll change the password so when Mikey tries to open the door he won't be able to get in, that will make him use the elevator. Raph, you're good with trip wires; make sure you place one at the entrance of the warehouse where you and Who will previously have some goo bombs prepared to attack once the trip wire is activated"

"Can I add some paint too?" Who asked. "I so want to see how Mikey likes a bath with cold pink paint"

"Sure. Leo, you and I will work here in the lair. We'll need another trip wire here at the elevator's door entrance for the goose feather pillows and the flour; I'll shut down the light system so when he tries to turn on the lights, he'll get zapped by a tiny electrical shock button and last but not least…"

Donatello surprised everyone when he picked up the tabby feline and put it on his lap, stroking his fur and smiling like a true movie villain.

"Uh… why will we need Klunk for?" Leo asked.

"Let's say one of the flour bombs won't have flour" Don answered calmly, a smile on his face. "Oh and Whoey, I need you to get me some extra coffee and a big pot of water"

"This will be so awesome I can hardly wait!" Who giggled.

"You and me both" Raph said. "You think we'll need a camera?"

Don glanced at his red-clad brother. "Was that even a question? Of course we'll need a camera!"

"Then it's settled!" Who stated. "We better start moving if we want this done on time"

"Guys, don't you think we should reconsider the attack?"

The girl and the purple and red-clad ninjas looked back at Leo in disbelief.

"It's just… I'm having a bad feeling about this"

Who, Don and Raph stared at each other before looking back at the leader of the clan.

Then, the sai wielder pulled out his shell cell. "See this? Either you're with us or I'll make sure your makeup session goes viral and I'm pretty sure that bunny friend of yours will like to see it first"

Leo narrowed eyes. "You wouldn't dare"

"Try me" Raph said defiantly.

Reluctantly, the sword wielder admitted defeat yet he couldn't ignore the weird feeling in his gut constantly telling him something bad was about to happen.

…

* * *

"… _Now, kids: How can you find ways to create a successful team? _

_With trust and respect. _

_Obviously _we_ weren't following that concept at the moment because: _

_1. We didn't trust Leo and his _'bad stuff's gonna happen' _feeling. _

_2. We let Raph threaten him. He _threatened_ the _leader _of the team. _

_One does _not _threaten a leader; you are supposed to respect him or her. Especially when your leader is also your eldest sibling. _

_But anyway, we all learned that trust and respect are not a laughing matter. _

_Oh yes, we learned… the hard way…"_

…

* * *

Hours passed and the waiting was unbearable. Nobody moved; they just sat behind the tattered couch that was being used as fort while Don finished filled some balloons with hot dark coffee.

"According to the heat sensor, Mikey already went into the warehouse and is currently being showered in goo and paint" Who informed. "First phase is a complete success"

"Do we have enough balloons?" Don asked.

"I think we should've filled some with poop" Raph said.

"Where the hell are you gonna get liquefied poop?" Who asked, her face scrunched up in disgust.

"That's what we have Don for. To think of solutions"

"Ok, Mikey's coming down the elevator! Everyone grab a balloon and wait for my signal!" Don ordered. "And Raph, if you want liquid poop you're going to get it yourself and leave me out of it"

Raph rolled his eyes and glanced at his blue-clad brother who hadn't uttered a single word. "Yo Leo, you're way too quiet"

"Yeah, I know we have to be stealthy but you're overdoing it" Who added.

Leo shook his head. "I don't like this one bit. That weird feeling in my gut is still there"

"Maybe you're just hungry" Raph said casually.

"There he comes!" Don alerted everyone in a hushed voice.

The turtles and the dark haired girl prepared the balloons for a perfect throw.

The elevator door opened and the trip wire activated making the buckets full of flour, canned cat food and goose feathers fall onto the unfortunate creature that had entered the lair. The guys snickered and almost exploded in laughter when they heard the buzzing sound of the electric prank button and the cry of pain coming from the victim.

In that moment, Leonardo's face paled. "Uh, guys?"

"HERE COMES THE KLUNKER-NATOR!" Don yelled and threw the tabby who immediately attacked.

"GUYS WAIT!" Leo tried to stop his brothers and friend but it was too late. The balloons were flying and hitting its target already.

"That'll teach you a thing or two, Mikey!" Who laughed while throwing the last balloons.

"Next time you'll think twice before messing up with my coffee!" Don added.

"Yeah! And next time the balloons WILL have poop!" Raph finished.

"And I firmly believe there will NOT be a next time, Raphael"

"M-MASTER SPLINTER?!"

Donatello, though still in shock, reactivated the electric system in the whole lair. To their bad luck, the ninja master was covered in goo, pink paint, flour and feathers, rubbed his paw because of the electric shock, was showered in hot coffee and had Klunk chewing on his ear.

"Guys, I'm home!" Another voice joined the scene. This time it was _actually_ Michelangelo.

"Donnie, I think something's wrong with the password because I-wow!" The orange-clad ninja froze in his steps. "What the shell just happened here?!"

Leo just sighed heavily and turned to his brothers and friend/sister. "I guess now it's a good time to say: I told you so"

…

* * *

"…_Teamwork is actually great though I think we all know we can't guarantee the final outcome but if things go as planned, you'll have yourself great results. _

_Too bad the only thing _we_ got was a pissed off Splinter and three weeks of extra chores._

_I'm already seeing several teamwork sessions in our future although after this epic fail, we actually _might_ be in need of some extra teamwork training and also a book called: _

'How to pull pranks for Dummies'.

_Or some lessons from Mikey. Yeah" _

_**End of Journal entry N°2**_

…

* * *

1p9/(%#/...((((

THAT... is what my laptop has been writing over and over and over again since last Saturday and it's still freaking out but not as badly as before. Until I decide what to do with old Vaio, updates will be slower than before.

Actually… joke's on me, updates were ALREADY slow. But yeah.

Hope you guys can understand.

Also thanks for the Stealthy Stories' nomination.

Read you later.


	4. Wounds-Who's entry

**_Journal entry N°3:_**

**_Wounds._**

"_A __wound __is a type of __injury __in which __skin __is torn, cut, or punctured, or where blunt force __trauma __causes a __contusion__. In __pathology__, it specifically refers to a sharp injury which damages the __dermis __of the skin. _

_As a matter of fact, there are several types of wounds and with time, they all heal. _

_All except one_

_The hardest to heal…"_

…

* * *

The teakettle in the kitchen whistled announcing the tea was ready to be served; furry paws got a hold on the handle, moving the object away from the small flame then proceeded to pour the bitter steaming hot liquid into a porcelain cup.

"The guys will be coming back late again, I suppose"

The ninja master turned his head to the dark haired girl sitting by the table, worry plastered in her face.

"Do not worry about them, Who-san. Late or not, I am sure they will return"

The girl tilted her face up. "How can you be so sure, Sensei?"

"I know my sons very well" Splinter replied.

Who sighed. "Yeah but… haven't you thought that someday-"

"-All the time. Yes" Splinter subtly interrupted her. "With time, the Master in me has learned that his students are not so little anymore which means I can no longer defend them from the world outside. But I have trained them well and they have listened to my teachings. Now it is up to them to use them wisely"

The ninja master brought the cup to his lips and savored its content, lowering the porcelain object once his thirst had been quenched.

"However, the father in me worries a lot for their safety. There is not a day I do not pray for my sons to come back to their home. To me"

Who noticed the slight change in Splinter's voice; he was afraid and no one could judge him, his fear was justified. Just when she was about to talk, the lair's door opened automatically and voices could be heard from outside.

"_Careful with his leg, Raph"_

"_I'm being careful! Blame Mikey, he keeps squirming!"_

"_Donnie, how much longer till we get to the lair? My leg is killing me!"_

"_Stop complaining, knucklehead. Or I'll break your other leg so you have a good reason to whine"_

Master Splinter and Who rushed from the kitchen to meet the injured terrapins at the entrance. They were shocked to see the outcome of the young ninjas' supposed-to-be free night. The orange-clad ninja's limb was fractured in two places; he also had some cuts and the bruises all over his body were already turning black and purple but it was the leg what worried everyone the most.

Raphael and Donatello had been hurt as well, not as bad as Michelangelo but they were hurting as well. As for Leonardo, he was no were in sight and neither was the BattleShell so Splinter and Who could only guess he was parking it.

"Hi Sensei, hi Whoey" Mikey smiled at them the best he could though he couldn't mask the pain he was feeling at the moment. "What's up"

"What's _up_? What the hell happened?! I thought tonight was your free night!" Who said almost yelling but fought to control herself.

"Foot Ninjas" Raph answered struggling to not let Mikey fall to the floor.

"Raphael, where is Leonardo?" Splinter asked in concern while he helped his red masked son carry Michelangelo to the couch.

"He's in the BattleShell. Unconscious" Don informed.

"Can we leave this conversation for later? We gotta go get Leo now" Raph said, abruptly changing the subject before the questioning began.

Splinter nodded and with that, the remaining brothers ran to get their leader back home.

…

* * *

"…_I thought that after 3 years living with ninjas I'd been used to scenarios like those. _

_But I was wrong._

_Every time they came back with injuries, cuts, fractures or even blood lost something inside me hurt; I could feel my blood freeze and my senses go numb until their voices brought me back to reality. Only then I was able to assist them and help Donatello nurse their injuries. _

_Many times I wondered how Splinter must've felt the first time the guys came back home wounded._

_He may be a badass Sensei with nerves of steel and all but he is still a father…"_

…

* * *

Back in the warehouse, Raphael and Donatello carefully maneuvered an unconscious Leonardo into a stretcher they had recently found in one of their many trips to the junkyard; they still didn't understand who could have thrown away a nearly new stretcher but if they could use it to their benefit then they didn't have any reason to complain. After they locked the warehouse, the three turtles disappeared inside the elevator.

"Can't this shit go faster, genius? Leo's bleeding out!" Raph demanded impatiently.

"The elevator can't go faster than this. And Leo's not bleeding anymore, Raph. The stab wasn't that deep to pierce any organs or cut important arteries; he just passed out from exhaustion… but it's nice to see you're concerned. I'll make sure Leo knows that when he wakes up" Don said smiling lightly.

"Yeah, yeah"

The lack of a better comeback made the purple-clad ninja stare at his sai wielder brother; it was then when he saw Raph's gloomy expression as he looked at the unconscious turtle on the stretcher.

"It wasn't your fault and you know it" Don said reassuringly.

Raph snorted. "Like shit it wasn't! Should've seen those fuckers behind him"

"You were protecting Mikey, remember? You couldn't be in two places at the same time. If someone is to blame here, that should be me"

Raph eyed at Donnie in puzzlement."What makes you say that?"

"I should've listened to Leo when he said we had to regroup" The bo staff wielder confessed. "I thought I could take those ninjas if we followed_ my_ plan"

"Well, for once I wasn't the rebel. That's a good thing" Raph chuckled. "But seriously, now… it wasn't your fault"

"Just like it wasn't your fault either" Don replied.

"Whatever you say" Raph said curtly not wanting to continue the conversation; message that Donatello understood perfectly.

Meanwhile at the infirmary, not even a broken leg could stop the hyperactive orange masked turtle from giving his father and his human friend a hard time with his constant whining and complaining.

"Sit still, Michelangelo" Splinter ordered for the umpteenth time.

"But I'm bored!" Mikey whined.

Who arched a brow. "You just came back from a deadly fight and you're bored?"

"Uh… yes?"

"Wow. Unbelievable"

"If I bring you some of your comic books, will you settle down?" Splinter offered.

Mikey looked at him in awe and a big smile on his face. "Would you do that for me, Sensei?"

The ninja master narrowed eyes. "Do not make me ask twice"

"Yes! Yesyesyes, please!" Mikey said bouncing the best he could with his broken leg.

With that said Master Splinter abandoned the infirmary and headed to Michelangelo's room, never noticing someone was looking at him closely.

…

* * *

"… _Oh, Sensei. Only Master Splinter could tolerate Mikey's childish behavior in a moment like this._

_Always patient, calmed and silent._

_Maybe way too silent…"_

…

* * *

"_This way, Raph" _

"_I know the way, Brainiac!"_

Who heard the familiar voices from outside the infirmary and immediately went to meet them. There she saw Raph and Don pushing the stretcher with Leo on it; the blue-clad ninja's pale shade of green wasn't good news at all.

"He looks… horrible" The girl gasped.

"Nah, poor guy was born that way"

Don looked at his brother disapprovingly. "Seriously Raph, making fun of him _now_?"

"Oh don't start! I just wanted to make her laugh!" Raph countered.

Don sighed. "Just keep moving or this time he'll really bleed out"

Who moved aside to let the guys continue their way, never taking her eyes off the unconscious Leonardo. She sighed heavily and glanced at Michelangelo's room; Splinter was taking too long. Something was not right. The girl walked upstairs and made it to the orange-clad ninja's chambers, the door was slightly opened so she peeked in hoping Splinter didn't notice.

There he was. Sitting on his son's bed, comic books in hand while his grey eyes stared at the nothingness.

Who cleared her throat announcing herself as she went in. "Master Splinter?"

"Ah, Who-san… which one of these you think Michelangelo would like to read the most?" Splinter asked her acting as normal as possible.

"Knowing him? All of them" Who chuckled.

Splinter smiled. "Excellent. Perhaps _now_ he will stay silent for some hours"

"I wouldn't say hours but… ok. Say, why don't I take them to him while you go drink some tea hmm? It looks like you need some" The girl suggested.

"Yes, I believe I do"

The ninja master handed the magazines to the girl. Before leaving, he turned to her.

"Who-san, did Raphael and Donatello return with Leonardo already?"

"I just talked to them but it'd be better if you wait until Donnie is done treating Leo's injuries; he's not exactly in a good condition right now. Not that he's dying or something… nonono! Scratch that! Leo's alive just not looking so alive… NO! That's not-"

Splinter's paw on the girl's shoulder made her stop her nervous blabbering.

"I understand. Thank you, young lady"

Who nodded and followed the ninja master until they parted ways once they made it downstairs. She had to stop herself from joining Splinter in the kitchen, Michelangelo was waiting for her. She would just have to wait until things settled down to have a talk with the Hamato brothers' father.

She walked inside the infirmary and surprisingly, Mikey was calmer than a few minutes earlier and his broken leg was protected with a cast.

"Wow, Donnie sure works fast huh"

"Actually, it was Raphie who fixed my leg" Mikey said. "Donnie is pretty busy with Leo right now"

"Is it that bad? The stab, I mean" Who asked handing over the comic books to Mikey.

"Well, you can never be so sure when it comes to stab wounds. Don is a bit paranoid so he runs tests, searches for poison, infections… all that nasty stuff"

Who hummed in understanding, then took a seat beside the orange-clad turtle. "Mikey, can you tell me what exactly happened?"

"We were just goofing around in the van, listening to some cool tunes and it was one of the rare times Leo wasn't being all Mr. Serious. We were just having fun, you know?" Mikey started.

"Right"

"We parked the BattleShell in an alley and then climbed to the roof of a building to enjoy the view. Then, out of nowhere, a bunch of ninjas jump in and surround us; they start throwing shurikens at us, blinding powder and such. They didn't leave us another option but fight" He continued.

"So the fight was unprovoked" Who said.

"Totally unprovoked, sis! So, we kicked their butts but they called more ninjas! We were starting to get tired and I think Leo said something about going back to the car; I really didn't pay attention cuz I was getting my shell kicked and this guy came with a pipe and hit my leg so the ninjas were now coming after me but epic Raphie saved me!"

Who blinked. "Epic Raphie… really"

"Well, he was being epic" Mikey grinned. "Then I heard Donnie saying we could still beat them if we followed his plan and I thought: isn't Raph always the one who goes against Leo? So if Don was Raph, then Raph was Leo… or was it me? No, Raph can't be me cuz I'm so adorable and he's way too ugly but-"

"Mikey, focus"

"Oh right. Sorry, I tend to ramble when I'm high on meds" The young turtle smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, Raphie saved me but I still couldn't get up on my own and it was then when Donnie decided to go with Leo's plan and get our shells out of there. We used the last smoke pellets we had left and started to go down but then…"

Michelangelo's story finished all of the sudden, his smile was gone and he looked haunted; for a moment, Who thought whatever meds Raph had used on his brother were working their magic.

"Then what?" Who demanded softly.

Mikey shook his head. "I… I don't think…"

"Please, Michelangelo. Continue"

Who and Mikey turned their attention to the ninja master standing outside the infirmary.

"Master Splinter? How long have you been here?" She asked.

"Long enough to request my son to tell the end of the story"

Who looked back at her ninja friend; it wasn't the meds, Mikey just didn't want to go back to that moment. And who could really blame him? Surprisingly, he continued talking.

"I didn't see exactly what happened but Raph did. Three ninjas we forgot about came behind Leo and held him back; he tried to escape but one of them stabbed him"

Mikey's voice started quivering and his blue eyes shone with unshed tears.

"When Donnie and Raph brought him back… I saw the blood and for a moment I thought…"

"That is enough my son" Splinter ordered in a calming voice, approaching Michelangelo to embrace him.

The young turtle leaned on his father's arms while he pulled himself together.

"Will he be alright, dad?" He asked in a tiny voice.

'Dad' was a term the guys barely used nowadays; they usually addressed Splinter as Sensei, Master or Father. However 'dad' was used mostly by Michelangelo when he was scared and needed fatherly comfort.

"You know your brother very well, my child. He will survive" Splinter assured his orange masked son. "Now, you should get some sleep. It is been a long night"

Mikey pulled away from the protective embrace. "But Sensei, I can't go to sleep! I need to know if Leo is-"

"-He's alright, Mikey" A new voice announced.

A very exhausted Donatello joined the scene followed by Raphael, who also looked like he could use a shower and some sleep.

"We managed to stabilize him; he'll be needing another transfusion tomorrow and plenty of rest for the next three weeks but he'll be fine. Eventually" Don informed.

"Can I see him?" Mikey asked.

"With your leg like that? I don't think so"

"But-"

"Trust Donnie on this one, k?" Raph interfered "You can see Leo tomorrow after he's rested"

Sighing in defeat, Mikey accepted the deal.

Don turned to his red-clad brother. "Now, your turn. I have to check those cuts of yours"

"But Don!" Raph rebutted.

"No buts, mister. You have some nasty gashes that need stitching"

"They ain't that nasty"

"Raphael! Listen to your brother" Splinter scolded him.

"Dammit, Don. You're worse than Leo!" Raph growled.

"Keep complaining and I'll use extra alcohol" Don threatened.

It was dawn when the lair finally went silent but there were two beings who hadn't been able to fall asleep. They sat by the table in the kitchen, silent.

Maybe too silent.

It was better that way, though. No words were needed to share the pain they both felt at the moment.

One more than the other.

The dark haired girl gave a last slurp to her tea and briefly glanced at Splinter. He looked aged, tired.

Hurt.

…

* * *

"… _And even though he hadn't been there with his sons in battle, that night I knew Master Splinter had also been wounded. _

_Deep within. _

_That wound is worse than a cut, worse than a stab, worse than a kick or a punch in the gut. _

_That wound… the kind of wound that comes from witnessing the ones you love suffer… _

_That wound is always the hardest to heal"_

_**End of Journal entry N°3**_


	5. Misunderstood-Don's entry

_**Journal entry N°4-Don's journal:**_

_**Misunderstood.**_

I love my family.

I love my brothers, my father, my friends. There's nothing I wouldn't do for them.

Every day of my life, I work hard to make sure our home is in perfect conditions for us to live in.

Every hour of sleep I deprive myself from, I use it to create new inventions that I know will make things easier for them and guarantee success in our missions.

Every single bit of information I've gathered along the years, I put it in practice whenever our lives are at stake.

And I never stop learning.

Never stop researching because I know there's always something new to learn. There's always something I still don't know and that could be crucial at one point of our lives.

Some people might call me crazy.

Some people might call me paranoid.

Some people might think I'm overdoing things, that I'm being too cautious with no reason.

To those people I say: I have a reason… no… I have _**too many reasons**_ to be how I am.

I've seen things.

Really. Bad. Things.

I've seen the hellish future that awaits us if I decide to take things easy. I've seen my family break apart because of me, because at some point in my life, I said: "Screw this!" and abandoned my family, my father.

My brothers.

The first friends I've ever had, the best brothers someone could ask for.

And I abandoned them. Just like that.

Well, technically _I_ didn't abandon them. No, I could not possibly do it. But the other me…_ he_ did.

_He_ left them to destroy each other _and_ themselves… and I will never know why.

I am aware that the hellish future I saw was all part of Draco's revenge… and yet, it felt so real. And what scares me the most is that, if given the chance, that hellish future could become real.

That single though plagued my mind all day, all night.

Mostly at night.

Maybe that's why I don't sleep very often.

I've tried so hard to forget but it seems hopeless; those memories are there to stay. To remind me. To warn me.

My friends have told me it's not good for me to dwell on a fake future, my brothers have done innumerable things to make me forget and my father has taught me many different meditation techniques I don't think he's taught to the others before. Not even to Leonardo.

I embrace and appreciate their efforts and good wishes. However my mind doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me on this.

I honestly don't care anymore.

I've learned how to live with this; I've learned how to control it and don't let it overwhelm me.

Not too much.

But I'm still alert.

Still working.

Still thinking on new ways to provide my family with the best high tech equipment in the world.

Still remembering that dreadful future; the death of my other brothers, the pain, the misery and suffering.

Some people might call me many things.

Well, they can call me whatever they want.

Until they experience what I already experienced, until they live what I lived… until they see how the ones they love die before their eyes…

…until that day comes, I will always remain as Donatello: The Misunderstood.

**_End of Journal entry N°4_**

* * *

…

Worry and depression have become my new best friends.

They helped me write this. Wheeee!

I know it's a short one but this is what I was missing: shorties. But you know what else I'm missing? Randomness.

I think that's a hint of what next entry is gonna have.


	6. A Lifetime of Changes-Splinter's entry

_**Journal entry N°5-Splinter's journal:**_

_**A Lifetime of Changes.**_

Back in the days when I was merely a simpleminded rat, I didn't expect much of life. My only worries were to get food, shelter and avoid death in many ways.

I never expected humans to show compassion towards what they consider a _pest_.

Yet, one did.

She was beautiful, kind; she saw beyond my appearance and treated me with love, compassion and care until the day she was taken from me.

After the passing of that innocent soul, her mate became my protector and with time: my Master.

I never expected this new human to become my mentor just like I never expected to learn something as complex as ninjutsu.

Once again, I was mistaken.

I learned by watching his moves and listening carefully while he read ancient scrolls in his native language; he took me to different places and never hesitated to tell me his deepest secrets, sorrows and dreams.

I was his confidant, his friend, his one and only student.

Time passed by.

I never thought pain, sorrow and impotence would be something a rat _could_ feel yet my heart broke in pieces when I saw my Master being slain before me and I could not protect him.

For the first time in my life I felt hatred, the thirst for revenge, and that thought consumed me from the inside.

Sadly, there was nothing I could do.

It seemed that with the passing of both my Master and his mate my fate had been sealed.

I was destined to live in pain, mourning the death of my loved ones until the end of my days.

Or so I thought.

To my surprise, just when I thought I had lost everything, I gained something new: four creatures covered in glowing ooze. Four baby turtles.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Two of them were crawling, one was rolling on its shell, and the other looked around in confusion. They chirped to each other, I believe they were communicating, letting each other know they were alright but I could sense they were scared.

I do not know what came over me but I knew I had to make sure those defenseless creatures were safe. Later, when I became sentient, I realized that what I was feeling was compassion.

The same compassion my mentor and his mate showed to me many years ago.

I never expected to become a father but with the arrival of these curious gifts, I had to train myself to become one.

My priorities changed: this time it was not just about me, I had four tiny mouths to feed, four fragile life forms that depended on me to survive. My primal needs of seeking food, shelter and avoiding danger came handy.

By the time we fully mutated, we had a place to call home, we had food and we were hidden from the world where no one could hurt my little turtles. My precious babies.

I never expected to go through such radical changes.

I never expected to become a pet.

Never thought I would lose my humans.

Never imagined I would find a new family.

I never expected I would mutate or my children.

But life proved wrong.

Time will continue to pass by and I may not be here anymore but what I _do_ expect is for my sons to enjoy their own long trip through a lifetime of changes to the fullest.

I know _I_ did.

**_End of Journal entry N°5_**

* * *

…

I lied.

Randomness will have to wait for a little while.

But I bet you didn't expect me to write Splinter so I think that counts as random?

No?

Ok.

There'll be a next time.


	7. What the what?-Leo's entry

_**Journal entry N°6-Leo's journal:**_

_**What the what?**_

_"Weird. Ee__rie. Uncanny. Unearthly._

_These adjectives refer to what is of a mysteriously strange, usually frightening nature.__Weird__may suggest the operation of supernatural influences, or merely the odd or unusual._

_We live in a weird world with weird costumes, weird laws, weird food, weird fashion styles, weird music and also weird families. _

_Take mine, for example. _

_We are the perfect definition of weird. _

_Not that is a bad thing; actually, that makes our lives more interesting._

_But there are days when the excess of weirdness around me makes me wish I had never left my bed in the morning…" _

…

* * *

The clock in Leonardo's room showed 8:15 am but the blue-clad ninja couldn't care less. He sighed contently in his sleep, nuzzling the cool side of his pillow; in his arms rested a brown teddy bear that always guarded his dreams even now in his teenage years.

Last night had been one of those nights.

He was on his way back from April's place after her katana lessons when he found out everyone had synchronized their_ "evil clocks"_, as Michelangelo would say, and decided it would be fun to give him a rough night at the same time.

Regular criminals, Purple Dragons, Hun and to top it all: Foot Ninjas.

True, his brothers had come to his aid but by the time they arrived, he had already given and received some punishment.

It was normal that he had come home exhausted and dying to go to sleep and, logically, Splinter gave him all the next day off to get some greatly needed rest and that was exactly what Leonardo had been doing.

Until…

"_**PLAYER 1 WINS!"**_

With a very non-manly shriek, Leonardo jolted upright in his bed. He could clearly feel how his heart jumped up his throat, dropped to his stomach and went back home in just one millisecond. Even after that abrupt wake-up call, the sword wielder was still confused and drowsy so it wasn't much of a surprise when he fell off the bed after a vicious fight against the bed sheets in his hurry to go see what was exactly happening outside.

"_What?! That was totally not fair!" _Yelled a familiar voice from outside.

The blue-clad ninja stopped his struggle and sighed, running a palm over his face. "Casey. Definitely Casey"

"_I want a rematch!"_

"_As you wish but I assure you, it will not change the outcome" _Came another voice.

"Master Splinter?" Leo said to no one in particular. "No, it can't be. Can it?"

The blue-clad ninja finally freed himself from the bed sheets and after getting "dressed", he left his room and headed to the living room hoping to find Casey and the rightful gamer of the lair, his brother Michelangelo, sitting side by side arguing over videogames.

'_It's just my head playing tricks on me' _He thought._ 'I mean, Splinter can't possibly be-'_

Before he could finish with his mental rambling, he stopped dead on his tracks as soon as he reached the couch. As much as Leonardo would've liked to deny the truth, one thing was for sure: his head was definitely _not _playing tricks on him.

"Ah Leonardo, it is good to see you awake" Splinter welcomed his blue masked son, game controller still in hand.

'_Ok? This is odd' _Leo said mentally.

"Did you have enough rest, my son?" Splinter asked his pupil, bringing him back to reality.

"Y-yes?" Leo answered, still in shock by the sudden discovery.

"Good. Now, I must inform you there will not be training today; you can do whatever pleases you" The ninja master informed.

After this, Splinter's attention went back to the screen. "Now where were we? Ah yes. As my sons would say: I was going to kick your butt again, Casey Jones" He said with a cocky smile.

Leo's jaw dropped.

Either this was a bad dream or he had somehow jumped to a different dimension the other night because what he saw and heard was not something his Sensei would do on a regular basis.

Then another thought came to his mind._ 'Wait a minute, if Splinter is playing videogames…' _

Leonardo tapped Casey's shoulder. "Sorry to interrupt but where's Mikey?"

"In his room with April" Casey answered. "Klunk's back from the vet and she bought some stuff for him. You know how she is, always wanting to spoil the lil' flea bag and Mikey's got the camera ready. I think they said something about a makeover session?"

"Makeover session?" Leo repeated absentmindedly but no one was paying attention to him now. Casey and Splinter were too focused on their game to care about Leo's sanity at the moment.

"That's something I gotta see for sure" With this, the sword wielder went back upstairs.

As he approached, Leo could already hear the nonsense coming from Mikey's room.

"_I don't know, I think I liked the sombrero better than the top hat" _Mikey said.

"_But the top hat goes better with the monocle, don't you think?" _April replied.

"_Yeah, I guess so. Aww, look how he chews on his tiny bow tie!"_

Curiosity won again making Leo open the door just to find a bunch of bags, cat toys and different accessories spread on the floor altogether with Mikey's comic books and action figures. In the middle of this chaos were April, Mikey and Klunk who didn't look exactly pleased nor comfortable wearing a ridiculously small sombrero on his head.

"Hey Leo" April greeted him.

"And he lives!" Mikey teased. "Had some good sleepy time?"

"Yes or at least I _was_ having it" Leo said. "What are you exactly doing to that poor cat?"

"Oh, this? Well, when I was on my way to pick up Klunk I saw this new pet shop with cute stuff for dogs and cats and… well I couldn't help myself" April explained, stroking Klunk's belly.

"Doesn't he look cute with this tiny sombrero? Oh! And it came with this tiny mustache too!" Mikey added showing the black fake mustache by putting it on his own face.

The blue-clad ninja blinked. "Uh… huh. Anyway, have you seen Donnie?"

"I think he's in the pool testing the water or something nerdy like that" Mikey said taking the sombrero off Klunk's head, much to the cat's relief.

"Alright. I'll leave you to your business then"

"Wait Leo, before you leave…" Mikey said while standing up and showing him a tiny orange plaid skirt "… you think Klunk would mind if I make one for me? You know, to match like twins!"

Leo blinked, turned on his heels and wordlessly closed the door behind him.

"The hell just happened?" He muttered to himself and moved on in search of his genius brother.

The sword wielder walked past the living room again where a second time defeated Casey Jones kept complaining about his lost while Splinter chuckled. Leo tried his best to ignore this scenario, it was just not normal.

Just like Michelangelo said, Donatello was in the pool. Or at least his weapon and gear were; his brother was nowhere to be seen.

Or so he thought.

"Hey Donnie, you here or… what in the-?"

Don was there, yes. Just not experimenting, not testing the water or upgrading the ShellSub.

No.

He was lying on the floor by the pool, lying on his plastron with his arms cushioning his head; he was stripped of his gear with only a pair of sunglasses on and he also had a large bendy straw stuck between his lips that allowed him to drink a large soda while he rested under several lamps.

"Ok, this day just keeps getting weirder and weirder" Leo thought out loud.

Donatello turned his head to his brother's direction and smiled. "Hi Leo. Care to join me?"

"Join you? I don't even know what you're doing!"

"I'm getting a tan, duh!" Don replied.

Leo looked at him in puzzlement. "That's it? What happened to the 15 minutes explanation? And where did you get those lamps? How are you getting tan without a tanning bed? Why-"

"-Leo, chill" Don said lazily. "I can't always be a genius"

Leo couldn't argue against Don's statement.

What he said was true, Don was not always working, thinking or inventing stuff; he had also a fun, laidback side. Thing is it was very rare of Donatello to show that side of him which would explain Leo's reaction.

Still confused, the sword wielding turtle decided to let Don be. "I think I'll go see what Raph's doing"

"You sure you don't want to join me? You could use some swimming and a tan after what you went through last night" Don insisted.

"I'll pass this time. Besides, you look comfortable there so why interrupt?" Leo replied.

Don shrugged. "Suit yourself but you're missing out some fun"

Leonardo hurried his steps to the dojo. So far, things were plain weird in the lair, so weird that he was starting to regret having left the bed. Come to think of it, it wasn't bad to see how his family's routine had changed and as he had been told: change is good.

But for some reason, this change didn't feel right to Leonardo.

It was just _weird. _

The sword wielder stopped in front of the dojo's door, closed his eyes and breathed deeply while repeating a single thought in his mind.

'_Please be here, please be here, please be here'_

When he opened the door, Leo opened his eyes and almost yelled out in joy to see the sai wielder sitting on his bench press, shell facing the door, a cloth in his hand that indicated he was just cleaning his weapons.

At last someone other than himself was being normal.

"So you finally woke up" Raph said.

Leo let out a nervous chuckle and rushed to crush his brother in a bear hug. "YES! YOU'RE HERE!"

Shocked, the red-clad ninja stood there not sure of what to do next. "Uh… good to see you too?"

Leo let go off him and sighed in relief. "God, it's crazy outside I'm telling you! Casey and Splinter are playing videogames, April and Mikey are dressing up Klunk and Donnie is getting a tan?"

"Not to mention your emotional outburst" Raph added. "Seriously, surprise bear hugs? And you say the others are crazy?"

"I was just so glad to see you're here. Another weirdness like, I don't know… you knitting a sweater… would've made me lock myself in my room for the day" Leo laughed wholeheartedly.

"Then I guess now it ain't the perfect time to ask you to try on this, is it?"

The leader's laugher was abruptly cut off. Raphael hadn't been cleaning his weapons; the cloth in his hand was part of a sweater he was knitting until Leo came in.

Leo's mouth opened and closed. "B-but… how… what-" He stuttered.

"-Since Mikey gave your favorite sweater to Klunk I was thinking maybe I could knit you one. You never know when you're gonna get cold and…" Raph explained until he noticed the expression on Leo's face. "… and I think I better stop talking"

Leo nodded. "Yes, please" He, then, slumped in the nearest chair he could find burying his face on his hands.

Raph chuckled, amused by his brother's distress. "Cheer up, Fearless. I'm sure this day can't get any weirder"

"You just had to say that" Leo said, his voice muffled by his hands.

"How about I make you some tea?" Raph offered. "It'll make you feel better"

Leo's face went up, eyes as wide as saucers. "And now you're being nice to me! Twice in a day!"

Raph smirked, helping Leo to get up. "What can l say, big bro. I'm in a good mood"

"GOOD MOOD?! YOU and GOOD MOOD!" Leo yelled in disbelief. He could clearly feel a corner of his eye twitching by now.

Raph shook his head and laughed while they walked to the kitchen. It was very funny to see Leo flip out like this; he just wished he had the camera to film his reactions.

The sai wielder was about to say something to Leo to reassure him but another presence caught his eye.

"Oh look, it's your girlfriend" He said referring to the long dark haired girl sitting by the table.

"Raph!" Leo protested.

"Hey, you gotta admit my teasing ain't a weird thing" Raph replied.

Leo sighed. "True" His attention went to the girl and immediately noticed something odd. "Why is she poking her pizza slice?"

"Go ask her, I'll get some tea bags from Splinter's secret stash. Looks like you need something stronger than your regular tea" Raph said leaving his brother in the kitchen.

Groaning mentally, Leo approached the girl. "Uhmm, Who?"

"Sup" She said casually, never interrupting the poking.

"Ok, I've had a weird morning and I'm afraid to ask this but… why are you poking your pizza and not eating it?"

"My body is on strike" Who answered.

"Mind to explain that?" Leo asked reluctantly.

"I was thirsty so I came for water but my throat decided it want to swallow anymore, I stopped breathing for a moment, my legs just didn't want to move; I couldn't talk for a moment either because my voice wouldn't come out no matter what and now I'm supposed to be hungry but my mouth is tired of chewing so now I'm poking the pizza, watching it to get cold without blinking which-"

…

* * *

"…_Before she could finish her bizarre little story, I was out of the kitchen and on my way back to the bedroom._

_Seriously, on days like this…why do I even bother to get up in the morning?"_

**_End of Journal entry N°6_**

* * *

…

Not quite what I wanted but… meh, it's random enough I think.

_DANCING COTTON BALLS!_

There, now it's random.

Wheeee~


	8. Not always a lone wolf-Raph's entry

_**Journal entry N°7-Raph's journal:**_

_**Not always a lone wolf. **_

Sorry to disappoint but I don't always like to be left alone… or at least not for long periods of time.

True, I enjoy my solitude and who really doesn't! But there are moments when a part of me desperately searches for company even though my exterior form doesn't show it up at all.

Donnie learned to read the "signs" as he calls them first than anyone else; he ain't called genius for no reason. He knows when I wanna talk and when I want them just to shut the fuck up and be there for me. His company has taught me patience pays up; more than once after waiting for hours, I end up telling him what bothers me.

He doesn't need to pressure me or convince me, he just waits.

And he always wins.

Casey's company is a mixture of hotheadedness and maturity. Yeah, the bonehead can be mature when he really wants to. After the adrenaline rush, the following heart to heart we have allows me to get rid of so many things in my head and I even get to learn stuff from him.

Who would've thought, huh.

Mikey's company is what the doctor prescribes every time I need a good time, a laugh and some of innocence. Lil' kid is as pure as a dove, even more; when I'm with him I feel like some of my own innocence is being restored and that's always a good thing, no?

I guess I'm lucky to have him.

We all are.

April's company is the equivalent of having a mother sitting beside you after a rough day at job, school, etc. She's almost as patient as Donnie when it comes to bear with me and my thoughts; she's an absolute angel. I wish I' d spend more time with her than I actually do, maybe if I did I wouldn't be so angry all the time picking up fights on the streets and my own home.

Which lead us to the next person in my list of companions: Leo.

Father once told me the reason of our daily quarrels is because we are opposite sides _of the same coin_. We have such heated friction between us because we are _similar_, not disparate; we need each other to function perfectly. This is why even though his company is the one I avoid the most I also yearn for it, _need_ it even.

I know there are times when we can't be alone in the same room without trying to kill each other but it's not always like that; we can actually co-exist and somehow bond sitting side by side in absolute silence.

Leo may not know this but his company is the one I like the most; after all, I'm still the little brother who needs his big brother.

I'll never tell him that, though.

And at last but never least, Master Splinter. As our Father his company will always be needed and appreciated; although my temper gets in the way of a good father-son morning talk sometimes, he never ceases to amaze me with his infinite wisdom, understanding and never ending love for us, for me.

I mean, who else would waste his time trying to understand and love someone like me? Only my father.

Thank god he hasn't given up on me.

True, I ain't always a lone wolf; you can't blame me for liking to talk to the air every once in a while though. As much as I love my family and their company, a lone wolf like me will always need some time alone… but not too much.

**_End of Journal entry N°7_**

...

* * *

"_I guess I'm pretty much a lone wolf. I don't say I don't quite like people at all but, to tell you the truth I only like them if I have a chance to look deep into their hearts and minds."_

_-Bela Lugosi_


	9. Perspectiveand ADHD-Mikey's entry

**_Journal entry N°8-Mikey's journal:_**

_**Perspective… and ADHD**_

People always ask me why I let Raph pick on me all the time.

Truth is I don't.

It's all about perspective.

You see, Splinter's always said I have a natural gift for martial arts and athletic stuff and he's definitely right. I don't think my moves too much like Leo and Donnie do; I just go with the flow.

I also don't like to use too much energy like Raphie-boy does. I mean, what's the point on wasting your energy on a bunch of bad fighters when you know the tough ones are waiting for you to run out of juice so they can kick your shell!

Hmm… perhaps I_ DO _think my moves. Shell, could I be turning into an egghead like Don?

Oh sorry… I guess I'm rambling now. Back to the subject.

As I was saying, Splinter says I'm a natural athlete and why do I bring this up? Because that means I'm fast.

Now, you may ask: but Mikey, what does that have to do with perspective?

A lot, trust me.

You know how Raph smacks me upside the head almost all the time and for every little thing I say? And that he chases me off the entire lair after falling for a perfect prank courtesy of moi?

You still with me?

Yes?

Good.

Ok, so… how is that if I'm the fastest turtle in the lair I always get caught, pummeled and smacked by him?

Have you already guessed?

Yes?

No?

How about now? Still nothing?

Ready to know the truth?

Drum roll, please!

Answer is…_and __**please**__ don't tell Raph…_

… BECAUSE I LET HIM!

Yes. I let him catch me, smack me upside the head, pummel me, almost kill me, you name it! That is the truth behind the smacks and bruises I got from my dearest hotheaded brother.

And you may ask again: what the shell does that have to do with perspective?!

As many of you should know, Raph is the_"I'm-too-manly-for emotions" __and __"Too-tough-for-physical-signs-of-affection"_ kind of guy.

Or should I say turtle?

That would be more accurate because… well, we ARE turtles after all. But saying_ "guy" _is ok too because we're all dudes, obviously.

But that's humans talk… and we're not humans. So in a way, that wouldn't be so accurate because we're turtles, mutated ones. Then again, there isn't a specific term teenage mutant ninja turtles can use in a conversation other than:_"dude", "guy", "bro", "pal",_ etc.

Oh gosh! I was rambling again, wasn't I? So, so sorry! I tend to do that a lot.

Damn this ADHD!

Where was I?

Oh yeah, perspective!

Since Raphie is not the turtle you're looking for when you want brotherly comfort, there is not much I can do to show him I love, love, _loooove_ him without getting kicked in the shell. Only way I can do that is by pranking him and letting him get me after a long chase.

To me that's snuggles in the couch while watching my favorite movie. Tough love, I know. But what can you expect from a tough turtle?

And the smack upside the head? That's like a_ hug! _

So technically, if I didn't let him smack me upside the head it'd be like turning down a hug! _His_ hug! How could I possibly turn down a hug from the brother I _loooove_ the most?

Yes, even more than my other bros and dad.

_Deal with it!_

Call me crazy, masochist, whatever you wanna call it… but the way I see it, that's just Raph's way to show he cares. Who am I to question that logic?

It's all about perspective. You see him as a mean and evil brother, I see him as a tough loving turtle. And besides, he doesn't hit me as hard as everyone thinks he does.

Think of it as a puppy trying to nibble your fingers.

Pretty cute, huh?

Hmmm, a puppy. Would be nice to have one around, you know, like some of those K-9 doggies? He or she could help us in our missions, biting ninjas and retrieving stuff for us!

I don't think Klunk would like that, though. He's boss! He'd be pretty pissed off if I get a puppy; wouldn't like to share his daddy, either.

Aw dammit! What was I talking about again?

_**End of Journal entry N°8**_

* * *

_**...**_

An update. How cute.

Aren't you happy guys?

Yes? No?

Well, whatever. I did my part already, now you do yours.


	10. Just listen-Raph's entry

_**Journal entry N°9-Raph's journal:**_

_**Just listen.**_

She looked weird from the moment she came into the kitchen.

But not weird as in: "Hey, has someone seen my brain? I left it on the table last night"

No.

She looked weird as in: "Fuck, I just ran over a kitten. Twice"

Or something between those lines; one thing was clear, though… she looked weird.

_Felt_ weird too.

The vibe around her didn't feel nice. It felt dark, gloomy… a bit unlike her.

Just a bit.

I mean, she _is_ dark and gloomy on a regular basis but today she was all that and a rainy day.

Anyway, she barely answered our "good mornings", ignored the big plate of eggs and bacon Mikey prepared and before we left for training she had given just three bites to her toast and only drank half of her orange juice.

I thought she could be sick, so did Don and Leo.

Brainiac was all over the lil' witch asking her if she needed a pill or something and Leo suggested her to rest and take the day off.

She just shook her head, said she was fine just a bit absentminded.

When we trained, her moves were sloppy and more than once she got some nasty blows from Mikey's nunchuks. I've been hit once or twice with those fuckers and let me tell you, it's not funny business; so what had me freaking out was the fact that she barely cried out or whimpered when she was hit.

Really. Weird. Shit.

At the end of our morning session, the knucklehead apologized a zillion times and, again, she shook her head and made up a lame excuse.

Splinter noticed this messed up behavior of hers and called her to his chambers. After exactly ten minutes of being there, she came out… _still_ looking shitty.

I guess Sensei couldn't make her talk. That's a shocker!

I dunno why I paid that much attention to her; normally I wouldn't care. However, there was something in the way she acted today that made me think of myself after a really bad day.

Maybe that was the problem. Maybe she had a bad day and no one to talk to about it.

But that's ridiculous! She has plenty of people to talk to!

There's Mikey who can make her laugh, or Donnie who can either bore her to death or wow her with his geeky inventions; there's Master Splinter who can help her relax or something like that.

And how can I forget… her boyfriend-in-denial: Leo.

Say what you want but I'll never stop teasing those two. Trust me, it's _way _funnier than watching stupid TV shows.

Now, what I don't understand is if she has plenty of people to talk to, why rejecting them all? Could that be one of those: "I need to be alone" girl things?

Beats me.

The day passed by; we continued to do our stuff and decided to leave her to her business.

Streets where pretty quiet and it was cold so Leo called it a night early. It was almost midnight when we came back home and she hadn't moved from same spot where we left her before we went outside for patrolling.

Mikey called her for pizza. She refused politely.

Donnie suggested a movie. She thanked him but said she wasn't really in the mood.

When Leo finally asked her what troubled her, I clearly saw her faking a yawn which made my gullible brother think that all what she needed was some nice sleep.

Poor moron.

They all went to bed and she stayed there, channel surfing.

I was gonna hit the hay as well but… I didn't.

Seeing her so lost, sitting alone in the couch with her laptop but nothing doing anything really; all silent, almost like a ghost… it didn't feel right.

But what could I do?

I ain't one to cheer up depressed people, that's Mikey's job and even _The Mikester_ couldn't manage to get a smile from her the whole day.

Still hesitating and asking myself if this was a good idea, I walked to the same couch she was sitting on.

"Hey"

"Sup" She said, eyes never leaving the screen.

"Mind if I-uh… sit here?" I asked tentatively, not expecting a positive answer.

To my luck (or not?), she didn't say no. I sat beside her but not too closely. You see, Who and I ain't friends but we ain't enemies either; we have this "invisible line" drawn between us and as long as she doesn't trespass mine, I won't trespass hers. And believe it or not, it makes life easier for both of us.

Hmmm… maybe I should've done the same with Leo years ago.

But back to our main story, shall we?

Ok, everything was going well so far; we were watching TV, a show called _**"**__**The Planet's**__**Funniest Animals**__**"**_.

We stayed like that for around fifteen minutes, maybe more, watching how a cat licked repeatedly his owner's head while pre-recorded laughs could be heard in the background.

"I'm sorry I haven't been myself today"

I ain't gonna lie saying that didn't take me by surprise.

Seriously, I almost jumped outta my shell when she suddenly decided to talk! But, being the skillful ninja I am, I masked that reaction so perfectly even Master Splinter wouldn't have noticed.

"Last night I… I kinda took a trip down memory lane" She said. "Remembering family moments and such"

For those who don't know, it's been three years since she left her place and moved to NY and normally, she misses her family even though they ain't exactly the definition of functional… but hey! Nobody is.

I heard sniffling and I glanced at her. She was crying.

The only thought in my head at the time was: "_Ugh, please don't ask for a hug!"_

Before you start bashing me with your smartass commentaries and rants about how "heartless" I am, let me make something clear: I'm Raphael, I'm a butt-kicking ninja and I don't hug anyone except my _close_ family. And even they can't make me hug them on a daily basis.

If I was a different kind of person… turtle… I would've offered a hug or some heartwarming words.

But that ain't like me.

Cruel? Cold? Maybe.

Don't like it? Tough shit, son. I ain't gonna change that.

Doesn't mean I can't offer a friendly ear once in a while, though.

For the next 2 hours I sat there, listening to her talking about stuff I rather not reveal; some of that info was quite personal and in case this journal ends up in the wrong hands aka Mikey, I better leave out the specifics.

By the time the last puppy video ended, she was done with the crying, talking and it seemed to me that most of the gloominess had faded away.

"Sorry for dumping this on you. I know you hate sentimental crap as much as I do"

I chuckled. "There's nothing to be sorry for, kid. Even a hothead like me can take a bit of that"

"Still… sorry". She said, stretching her arms lazily before she left the couch.

I could've let her go… there was something I needed to know. Otherwise I would never sleep peacefully ever again.

"It's not that I really care but… why _me_?"

She said it herself, I hate playing psychologist so naturally, I wanted to know why she trusted me enough to allow me peek into her personal Pandora's Box.

"I didn't need to laugh, think discuss or analyze this…" She said "…I just needed someone who would just listen"

Then she turned around and I saw a faint smile appearing on her face.

"Good night, Raph… and thank you"

She headed straight to her bedroom after that.

Heh, that went well.

And Leo says I never listen! Well, he better ask his girl because I'm damn sure she would disagree.

I have to confess it was nice she picked_ me_ of all turtles.

Wait, wait... wha?

_**End of Journal entry N°9**_

* * *

_**…**_

Those poor innocent shippers~

So sad, so confused!

They come flocking to my Fic-site

Crying, "Ship it like FedEx, please!"

But did I ship it?

... maybe I just did~?** *sinister smirk***

Nah! I kid, you silly guys! You're just seeing things!

...

...

Though I kinda have a thing for bad guys. Juuuust saying~** *Neil Degrasse Tyson reaction*** I'm a terrible human being, aren't I? XD


	11. Catchy, not-Who's entry

_**Journal entry N°10:**_

_**Catchy, not.**_

_Has it ever happened to you that you get a catchy tune stuck in your head for a whole day?_

_Well, that happens to me… a lot. _

_In my line of work you come across hundreds of tunes that I could get stuck with but funny thing is I always seem to get stuck with the silliest, childish, most unusual songs ever; most of them are parodies of an original song and to be fair, they're… better than the original stuff._

_Just saying._

_Which reminds me… there was this time when I first moved in with the guys. I was just recovering from my surgery, the aftershock of leaving my place and tons of other stuff. _

_Those sure were stressful days._

_I needed to distract my mind with something but what! Books weren't helping, TV was too boring and videogames had lost its charm… so YouTube was my last option. _

_And then it happened. _

_For the next 2 weeks I couldn't get rid of that silly but catchy tune until I sang it out loud. That seemed to do the trick._

_What I didn't know was that someone had paid close attention to me during those 2 weeks of self inflicted musical torture. _

_I wasn't expecting to hear that song in particular ever again but it sorta came back to haunt me and everyone else in the lair._

_It all started a Saturday, if memory serves me well; I was out with Raph at the airport, we were waiting for the last of my stuff to arrive…_

…

* * *

"How long do we have to wait here?" Raph asked, looking clearly annoyed.

"I have no idea" Who answered, stifling a yawn.

Three hours had passed and the flight with the last of her bags was nowhere to be seen. Another flight delay, Who thought. That was ok with her but after having listened to the all the songs in her mp3… twice, her patience was running thin.

The sai wielder squirmed on his seat trying to be as comfortable as possible without any success and tugged at his jacket. "Stupid clothes, they're itchy!"

Who sighed. "Tell me about it"

Feeling Raph's confused gaze on her, the girl chuckled. "Just so you know, not all humans are comfy wearing clothes"

"Oh yeah? Name one"

Who smirked. "You're looking at her"

Raph blinked. "…ok now name ten"

Who's phone rang interrupting the conversation.

"It's Don" She said after looking at the screen. "Hello? … No, we're still stuck here… I don't know, maybe two more hours. Why?"

Who's calmed expression was soon replaced by a questioning one. "What? … ok, ok; I'll be there as soon as I get my stuff"

"What's wrong with Brainiac?"

"Mikey is driving him crazy"

The sai wielder rolled his eyes and sighed. "What'd he do now?"

"I couldn't understand what Don said but I'm guessing your dearest baby brother is sugar high again" Who said. "If that's the case then calming him down shouldn't be so hard, right?"

Raph snorted. "You wish"

…

* * *

When Raph and Who made it back to the lair after six long hours of waiting, the last thing they expected to see was an olive-green turtle hiding behind the couch pressing a couple of pillows against his ear slits.

"Uh, Donnie? You ok?" Raph asked in concern.

Don came out of his hideout sighing in relief. "Finally! Please, make him stop! I haven't been able to work because of that stupid song Who-"

"-now hold up a sec! I haven't taught Mikey anything!" Who replied angrily.

"Well, that's not what he said!" Don replied back.

"Stop it you two! This ain't helping" Raph interfered. "First things first, where's the lil' bugger anyway?"

As if on cue, Mikey came out of the kitchen with Klunk tucked under his arm; singing loudly and out of tune.

"There's a creeper on the roof, LALA-LALALA. There's a creeper on the roof, LAAA-LALALALALA. Creeper on the roof, LALA-LALALA!"

Who slapped her forehead in annoyance. "Oh, not that song!"

"EVERYBODY SING! Ho-ole in the roof, LALA-LALALA! There's a ho-ole in the roof, LAAA-LALALALALA! Ho-ole in the roof, LALALALALALA!"

"That sounds a lot like_ Brown girl in the ring, _doesn't it?" Raph pointed out.

Who nodded. "Yeah, but what Mikey's singing is just a-"

"-Creeper on the roof, LALA-LALALA!"

"Mikey, shut up!" Don yelled.

"I can't! That song is just hilarious!" Mikey giggled. "And I definitely need to download it and use it as my ringtone, as wake-up tune, a remix… THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!"

Raph groaned and glanced at Don. "Tell me you didn't let him eat chocolate donuts for breakfast again"

Unexpectedly, the orange-clad ninja turned to his dark haired friend. "Whoey, you just _gotta_ give me the link of that video! Pleeeease!"

"Oh no, you won't!" Don intervened. "And Who, you better not tell him anything!"

"Trust me, I won't"

"Awww, c'mon! You can't hide such precious info from me!" Mikey pouted. "At least do it for Klunk" He added nearly shoving the cat's face into Who's.

"Sorry but that's not gonna happen" The girl said stepping back from Mikey. "And by the way, if you don't have the link of the video already then how did you learn that song anyway?"

Mikey chuckled, putting the orange tabby on the floor. "Easy, you were literally screaming it while dancing in your room"

Who's eyes opened like saucers. "WHAT! H-How did you-"

"-And I got proof of it~" The orange-clad ninja added waving his shell-cell at Who's nose.

The girl growled and pounced at the ninja's hands, trying to snatch the device. "MIKEY, GIMME THAT!"

"Nuh-huh~"

"MIKEY!"

The orange-clad turtle skillfully back-flipped his way away from the angry girl, laughing wholeheartedly at her growl of frustration.

Seeing that there was no point on chasing Mikey at this point, Who stopped the chase and sighed in defeat. "This is worse than when I showed him _The Flop_ song"

Don's hand came out of the blue and landed on Who's mouth, promptly silencing her. "DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!"

The laughing turtle landed on his feet and turned around, smiling widely. "Wow, I can't believe I had forgotten about that one! Now I can sing both songs all day!"

Don's jaw tightened. "Mikey, you better not-"

"-OH, I KNOW! I'll mix both songs! Sure there must be a way to fit _The Flop_ in the _Creeper on the roof _song, right?"

…

* * *

Minutes later, the lair's elevator door opened revealing a blue-clad turtle carrying some boxes.

"_I wonder if Raph and Who are back" _Leo thought, placing the boxes on the floor. "Donnie? Mikey? Anybody home?"

Suddenly, the lair's main entry door opened and a scared Michelangelo ran through them followed by a furious Donatello.

"AHHH! DONNIE, C'MON MAN! DON'T HATE JUST CUZ YOU CAN'T SING LIKE ME!"

"MIKEY, DON'T YOU DARE SING THAT AGAIN!"

"CREEPER ON THE ROOF, LALA-LALALA!"

"MIKEEEEYYYY!"

Both arguing turtles disappeared inside the tunnels, leaving the lair in silence.

"Wow, that was quite the welcome I wasn't expecting" Leo said to himself.

Raph had just come out of the kitchen when he saw Leo walking towards him. "Oh, you're back"

"Any idea why Don was chasing Mikey?" Leo asked.

"Don went nuts thanks to Mikey" Raph answered. "I think I better go after them, they've been like this for a while now"

"Good luck with that" Leo chuckled; then, he turned to the girl sitting at the table, her face planted on its wooden surface.

"Hey Who, got some more of your stuff from April's"

"Nice" Came he muffled reply.

Pulling up a chair, Leo sat beside Who. "What was that song Mikey was singing?"

"That was a Yogscast reference and now it's stuck in my head again!" Who said, lightly banging her head on the table. "It took me two weeks to get rid of it, what do I do now?!"

"Uhmm… do the flop?"

Who looked up at the turtle in blue, her eyes narrowed. "Not funny, Leonardo"

…

* * *

… _yeah, I guess next time I'll just have to pick up a better song to get stuck with but for now, let's all do the flop while creepers blow up holes in the roof. _

_What! _

_Not my fault those songs are catchy. _

_Or not? _

**_End of Journal entry N°10_**

* * *

…

…

Yay, I'm getting stuff done!

And now it's question time: Are you bros (Pewdiepie) or bronies (MLP-FiM)? If you are one of them (or both), do you want me to write a journal entry about it?

Leave your answers in the reviews!

Thanks for reading!

BACK TO THE GYM NOW!


	12. Peacefulkids, noisykids-Splinter's entry

_**Journal entry N°11- Splinter's journal:**_

_**Peaceful kids, noisy kids.**_

Parenting can be wonderful and rewarding, but it can also be difficult and unpleasant.

Being a father of four boys has never been an easy task but that does not mean it is impossible… even for a simple minded rat like I was when I first found them.

The first years were not too difficult. I discovered with time that kids were easy to amuse, teach and discipline, they went to sleep early and they weren't too noisy. I will not deny there were times when things got out of hand and some yelling could be heard but, like I said, they were easy to discipline and they obeyed almost immediately.

That was the good part.

The bad and unpleasant part for me had to be feeding time, bath time, bed time and the small "accidents" they had when they drank too much water before going to sleep but even that was tolerable.

And then they grew up.

Bad and unpleasant did not even begin to describe how raising teenagers was for me. Still is, actually.

They were more curious, more agile and cunning than me thus it became a problem to prevent them from leaving home.

Perhaps I taught them too well.

They always remained obedient but every now and then I had to punish them for going against my word, for harming each other, raise their voice at me, reply when I lectured them and for those atrocious words I wish they would have never learned. More than once I had to give those punishments to the most rebellious of my children: Raphael.

With all those punishments, curfews, arguments, more rules and more lectures, it seemed that the good golden days of fatherhood were long gone.

And if that was not bad enough… my once almost silent home became very, very loud.

I can not say I despise technology; if it wasn't for television, I would not enjoy my soap operas or a good movie in the company of my family. But there are times when I wish Donatello would have never introduced technology to his brothers but as curious as my sons are… I believe that was bound to happen sooner or later.

Between Michelangelo's videogames and Raphael's music…, more like blenders and trash compactors with a screaming mad man in the middle,… I do not know which is worse.

Leonardo and Donatello are no better than his brothers.

Since Leonardo was given a guitar and let Donatello "upgrade" it, my afternoons are less than relaxing. I am not saying he is not good, in fact, he has mastered his instrument just like if it was one of his katas; I only wish he would have stayed with a normal guitar instead of an electric one.

Donatello's inventions are marvelous but the tools he uses are simply a torture to my sensible ears. He is aware of this and tries to be as quiet as possible but although his intentions are good, his tools tend to make this task impossible for him to accomplish.

But just like technology is not always against me, my boys are not always noisy.

Sometimes Michelangelo picks one of my favorite board games and plays with me and Leonardo; Raphael stops listening to his hellish music and chooses something more soothing for me to listen to and Donatello abandons his work to bake muffins and brownies always remembering to make an extra batch for me exclusively; we can worry about my cholesterol another day.

Moments like this, moments of peace, are the ones I cherish the most… and they also give me strength to endure the next day.

It's a good thing I got my trusty earplugs.

What.

Did you believe I survived through all this without a Plan B?

**_End of Jou__rnal entry N°11_**

* * *

_…_

_…_

Master Splinter is not always zen and pacific, you know? He's a single father of 4 teens, for goodness sake!

Sorry for not updating "Hold my hand", guys. Honestly I never thought about writing a second part for it, it was meant to be a one-shot. Give me more time and I'll come up with something but for now, you'll have to wait.

Same goes to "Race Against Death"; still working on the plot for the two final chapters… and no, there will be no sequel. Once I'm done with that one, I'm not writing gore until I recover. My dark side needs rest.

Anyway, keep reviewing; I always read those even when I don't reply. Sorry, don't have much time for that lately.

Read you later!


	13. Brony-Mikey's entry

**_Journal entry N°12- Mikey's journal:_**

**_Brony._**

_What's a Brony? _

_Why do they exist?_

_What makes them so special? _

_Why am I asking so many questions? _

_Why don't I have a pizza slice right now?_

_Where the hell did I put my nunchuks this time?_

_Well, a brony is a fan of__My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic__that is outside the target demographic of little girls. __They are known for their making__art__,__music__,__animation__, and__fan fictions__and those are just a few things that they create based around their favorite characters or original characters. _

_I won't lie… at first I wasn't even interested on the show; I had seen some pictures, captions and gifts on different websites and it was getting on my nerves until I decided to watch at an episode. Then, one thing led to another and BOOM! Welcome to the Brony world! _

_I had some difficulties to watch the show at first. The guys own the TV the weekends and since this was something they wouldn't really like… _not to mention Raph would never stop making fun of me if he knew I watch a show about pastel colored magical ponies_… most of the episodes I had to watch them on my laptop. _

_My favorite episode was the first one where I met my pony-self: Pinkie Pie! She's just so adorable and fun! Needless to say the first pony figure I bought was a tiny Pinkie Pie; small enough to hide in my gear and take her with me everywhere I went! _

_Except during patrol rounds._

_My love for ponies and my brony persona was my best secret ever after my secret identity as Turtle Titan, _of course.

_Sadly, you can't keep secrets when you live with ninjas._

…

* * *

Quiet Saturday afternoons were something unusual in the lair yet they did exist and Michelangelo was taking advantage of that. After double checking if he was completely alone, he left his room with a laptop under his arm and a tabby cat following his steps closely; he ran downstairs till he got to the big couch in the living room, placed the laptop on the coffee table and made himself comfortable while the page loaded.

It didn't take him long to hear the catchy theme song and soon enough he was singing along the well known lyrics. Klunk jumped to his master's lap and pawed at the tiny plastic toy Mikey held on his hand; the latter chuckled at his cat's antics, he was considering if he should get Klunk one of his own but then again, his brothers would know about his secret and he couldn't let that happen.

The first ten minutes when smoothly but all of the sudden, the lair's door opened revealing a red masked turtle covered in sweat, grease and motor oil. Raphael glanced at his little brother; he obviously was too engrossed on whatever he was doing at the moment to even notice his presence.

"Yo Mikey, whose turn is to cook today?" Raph announced himself making the smaller turtle jump in shock and quickly turn off his laptop.

"W-What are you doing here? I thought you were out!" Mikey said nervously.

The stuttering didn't go unnoticed by Raph, who gave him a wry look. "I told you I was gonna be in the garage helping Don with the BattleShell"

"Oh… well shouldn't you be like… there or something? Don could still need your help"

Just when Raph was going to reply, he noticed Klunk pouncing on a pink figurine and nibbling its leg.

"What's your cat biting?"

The green on Mikey's face went to his feet when he turned around and saw his pet playing with his Pinkie Pie figurine. Using his skills, he snatched the toy from Klunk and hid it from Raph's sight.

"It was just bubblegum wrap" He lied, giving Raph a toothy grin of innocence.

The silence between them was interrupted by the faint sound of a theme song coming from Mikey's laptop. Raph opened his eyes in realization and pushed past his brother to confirm his guessing but the latter did the unthinkable; grabbing a glass of soda, Mikey aimed at Raph's face and gave him a cold carbonated bath.

Raph gasped and froze in place but his golden eyes sent daggers at his brother.

"You are so dead"

…

* * *

Minutes later, Donatello came back looking dirtier and more exhausted than Raphael. He was ready to hit the showers and crash on the couch but his plans were ruined by his brothers wrestling on the floor.

"Uh… what's going on here?"

"Miss Mikey here watches My Little Pony and has a pet pony too!" Raph grinned, holding Mikey down with one hand while with the other he held a pink plastic pony.

"Give me my Pinkie Pie back!" Mikey yelled.

Raph laughed. "Pinkie Pie? You named this thing?"

"Just give him the pony already, this is ridiculous!" Don intervened but his words didn't make any effect.

His brothers continued chasing each other, one whining and begging for his pony and the other teasing and mocking the youngest. In a moment of distraction, Raph let his guard down and let Mikey pin him but before he could get to his toy, the red-clad ninja threw it away and landed in the dark waters of the pool.

Mikey's expression was unreadable. His blue eyes stared at the pool and tears quickly clouded them; the currents coming from the river would drag whatever was at the bottom of the pool and everybody knew once something got in there, it was lost forever.

Raph composed himself and knelt beside his brother, patting his shell. "Aw c'mon, Mikey. It was just a toy… a stupid _girly_ toy!" He added with a laugh.

"I can't believe the _Battle Nexus Champion~ _watches a girly show and has girly dolls~ But I guess that was bound to happen; you _are_ girly after all"

"Raph, that's enough!" Don chided him.

"Shush you, this is way too funny" Raph replied still laughing. "Hey Mikey, when do I get to meet your boyfriend, huh?"

"Now that's just being plain rude" Don reprimanded him earning another reply from Raph.

During the discussion and teasing, no one had noticed the change on Mikey's face, nor the new presence in the room. The smaller turtle trembled and turned his hands into fists while small tears snaked their way down his face.

He had to wait for the right moment.

"… I don't know why you tease him so much about this, Raph! I mean, it's just a kids' show"

"Wrong Donnie, it's a _girl's_ show. Right, Mikey? Or should I say… Michelle?"

That was it.

Gritting his teeth, Mikey delivered a right hook to Raph's beak before running upstairs and locking himself in his room where he could freely cry his heart out.

Back downstairs, Don and Raph's jaws hanging in shock. In all their years, they had never seen Mikey reacting this badly… let alone hit someone out of anger. _Especially _if that someone was Raph.

The red-clad ninja rubbed his aching area, checking for blood. "He punched me… in the nose! Can you believe that little goofball?!"

"Be glad he didn't punch you _elsewhere_"

Both remaining turtles turned around to see Who standing by the lair's entrance, arms folded against her chest and not looking very happy.

"How much did you see?" Don asked."

"Enough to know he got what he deserved" The girl replied.

"Don't tell me you're on his side too. I mean, even _you_ can see that pony show is lame, girly and it ain't for… tsk, _bronies. _And what the hell is a _Brony_? They gave Bieber-fans a new name?"

"How can you say that or know what a brony really is if you don't even watch the show?"

Raph tsked. "Bronies ain't nothing but creeps"

"Creeps, huh? Does that make me a creep too?" Who asked while she unzipped her hoodie, revealing a black shirt with a Rarity silhouette printed on it.

Don's gasp was barely audible; now he understood Who's posture on the subject, she wasn't just playing devil's advocate… this was personal.

"Once a great man said: you're dead _if you aim only_ for _kids_. Adults are _only kids_ grown up, anyway. _That_ concept is what makes MLP a great show, not just girly like narrow-minded people like you call it" Who started as she approached Raph.

The latter kept his unfazed façade, locking eyes with Who. He had to admit it was pretty brave of her to confront him but even so, he would never give in. The dark haired girl was now inches near the ninja's face, never lowering her gaze, not even blinking.

"Let me ask you something, Raph…" She continued "…you think your muscles, your love for bikes and your bad boy attitude makes you turtle enough? Well, I say Mikey is a much better turtle than you'll ever be!"

By the end of her little speech, Raph had finally lost the "staring contest" and now looked at his toes.

Who focused her attention on Don now. "Did you see where Pinkie landed?"

"In the pool and she should still be there, I have all the access tunnels blocked" Don informed. "I'll go for her"

"No. Raph will do it" Who turned back to the turtle in question. "After you get Pinkie out of the pool, you're gonna go make Mike's favorite pizza and then you'll apologize"

Raph glared at her in disbelief and anger. "Excuse me?!"

"You heard me, tough guy"

"And what if I don't wanna, witch-girl? You gonna tell your boyfriend, Mr. Splinter Junior?" Raph countered, poking the girl's shoulder.

Who narrowed eyes. "First of all, he's not my boyfriend. And second of all…"

The sai wielder only had time to yelp when he felt a hand grabbing his finger and pulling it back, then another one grabbing his wrist, twisting it all together with his arm while Who kicked his leg to making him fall, his arm still in her possession and bending in an odd angle.

"… I can punish you myself and believe me, you _don't_ want that" She hissed.

"Ok, ok! I'll do it! J-just… gimme my arm back! Fucking hurts!" Raph growled.

"One more thing, you will watch that show with him. All the 3 seasons! Is that clear?" Who asked and Raphael had no other choice but to nod.

The girl let him go and the turtle cradled his aching arm in his way to the pool.

Don approached her, his mouth agape. "That… was so…"

Who smirked. "I know, it was awesome"

"I was going to say unnecessary but… do you think he'll be ok?"

"If you mean Raph, he'll think twice before pissing me off. If you mean Mikey, I think-"

Who couldn't finish her phrase all thanks to a blur of orange and green that had just tackled her to the ground.

"MARRY ME!"

"EXSQUEEZE ME?" Who exclaimed between laughs.

"Ok, maybe that was a little abrupt. But anyway, that was so epic!" Mikey beamed.

The girl chuckled. "Well… bronies have to stick together, right?"

…

* * *

_After that day, my secret was no more… and it was a good thing! My bros seemed to like it too though not as much as me and I found out some interesting things:_

_1-Whoey is a brony, her favorite ponies are Pinkie Pie and Rarity and she has her own tiny Pinkie Pie too!_

_2-If Leo is not around to save me from Raph… I can safely go to Whoey. She'll give Raph the scare of his life._

_3-Klunk likes to sleep with my Pinkie Pie toy._

_4- After watching the 3 MLP seasons with me the whole afternoon… I think I've converted Raphie-boy into a brony. He keeps denying it, though._

_Bronies are just like you and me. They're not freaks, nor creeps; they face opposition and support just like everything in life. _

_So, if you're a brony: don't be ashamed! EMBRACE IT AND BE PROUD! _

_And if you get teased or trolled for being one… flip them off and yell:_

_BUCK YOU, TROLLS! _

_I'M A MOTHERBUCKING BRONY, MOTHERBUCKERS!_

_**End of Journal entry N°12**_

* * *

…

…

Just so we're clear, I don't own MLP or Hasbro or Disney quotes or any of the things I've said… except for brony shirts, a mini Pinkie Pie and a mini Rarity.

Thanks to the Brony-pedia for all the info.

Brohoof! /)*(\ to all bronies out there and now I'm outta here. Need to have some social life.


	14. 13-Don's entry

_**Journal entry N°13- Don's journal:**_

_**13**_

_Triskaidekaphobia_: Fear of the number 13. Superstition related to a specific fear of Friday the 13th, called _paraskevidekatriaphobia._

In Spanish-speaking countries, instead of Friday, Tuesday the 13th is considered a day of bad luck. I think Leo said Tuesday the 13th is _Martes Trece _in Spanish- I don't know, I didn't spend two years in South America so I'm gonna trust him on this one.

Like always.

It doesn't mean I'm a boot licker, don't judge!

Now, you may be asking yourself: Donnie, what's with the random knowledge bomb?

As a turtle of science, I'm always investigating; from the smallest changes in my environment to the weirdest gadget I find in the dumpster, I just need to analyze and study them to quench my thirst for knowledge.

However, I don't consider myself as a superstitious turtle. That's Mikey's department.

Sure, we've had a few unexplainable experiences and I can't say our "luck" is the best but black cats, broken mirrors, clovers, Friday the 13th, _Martes Trece_- those things didn't say anything to me and I never paid much attention to them.

Until _she_ came into our lives.

To be honest, I never pegged Who as superstitious- or afraid of anything but butterflies- but I guess even I can be mistaken.

I started noticing her change of behavior around those particular days a month after she moved with us. The day before and after Tuesday the 13th or Friday the 13th she was fidgety, anxious- almost scared of leaving the lair- but it all changed when the day in question came; when she was back to her usual self, calm, collected, happy… maybe too happy.

Unbeknownst to Whoey, I began to study her.

I marked every single Tuesday and Friday 13th I could find in the calendar. I also marked the day before and the day after, of course.

It was a matter of patience; lucky for me I have enough of that, even more than Leo and Sensei together.

Not bragging or anything, I just thought that you should know.

I know to some this may sound creepy but here are some of my notes during the process of observation:

Every 12 prior Tuesday or Friday 13th- same thing with every 14- Whoey entered the kitchen and briefly looked at the calendar. Then her eyes would widen before she glanced back at the calendar. She would spit out whatever she was eating or drinking at the moment, coughed then ran to her room before one of us could ask her if she was ok, then she disappeared in her room and we didn't see her after three hours.

When Who finally came out, she was dressed in green from head to toe; she had an _evil eye _bracelet in the right hand and a clover dangling from a golden chain around her neck.

None of the guys asked her about this; I think Leo knew what was going on but didn't say anything- always the considerate one.

The whole day I observed her, she was always looking behind her back, at the floor, avoiding stairs and black cats. Also, she freaked out if someone spilled salt on the table during lunch and when we accidentally hit any glass or mirror.

Curiously, when the _cursed _13th came, Who left all those weird antics behind and acted… weirder than usual.

The green clothes and lucky charms? Gone.

The fidgeting and anxiousness? What's that!

Spilled salt, broken mirrors? "Clean up on aisle 3!"

Black cats? "Here, kitty kitty! Come to Whoey~"

The pattern repeated every year for 2 years.

This year, the 3rd year since Who moved permanently with us, things hadn't changed at all but that wasn't really annoying me.

What was _really_ annoying me is that after 3 years, I still hadn't found an explanation to this… phenomenon, if it could be called that way.

The phobia is called _Triskaidekaphobia_ yet she wasn't scared of 13; she freaked out over 12 and 14! It didn't make any sense!

I knew I would not rest until this mystery was solved so I gathered all the courage left in me and I confronted Whoey. Trying to avoid the creepy I've-been-watching-your-every-move part, I asked her about her aversion for the days before and after every Tuesday/Friday 13th.

The answer she gave me was quite... interesting.

"_Just because witches can't have bad luck doesn't mean they can be careless, Donnie" _She said with a smirk that would have made Raph or even Shredder himself proud.

"_Also, people are so distracted looking at me breaking all the bad-luck rules that they unconsciously do stupid things and end up breaking a rule as well! Seeing them freaking out over that is just hilarious!" _

Like I said before as a turtle of science, I'm always investigating but from now on, I think I'll stick to studying advanced alien technology.

Trying to figure out how Who's mind works is difficult.

And disturbing.

Shell, what day is it today? Dammit, now _I'm_ scared of 13's! Or should I say… scared of what Who has planned for this 13?

_**End of Journal entry N°13**_

* * *

…

…

Whee! I'm updating stuff!

Oh and to those who are reading **"Race Against Death"**?

I lied.

You'll see what I mean when I get to the next chapter.


	15. Turtle Dad-Klunk's thoughts

_**Journal entry N°14- Klunk's thoughts:**_

_**Turtle Dad.**_

People who say cats don't care about their owners are… 99% right.

Cats are born kings and queens by nature; we are descendants of royalty and humans have always been our servants. Or staff, whatever is good for you.

When I met the weird looking human that later became my new owner, I saw an opportunity to rule like I was supposed to from the beginning. I was merely a kitten when my first human adopted me so I didn't know how to be a cat-lord.

And that cost me dearly.

Many months I spent out on the streets, learning how to be a cat-lord and how to rule over those cruel beings: the humans.

It was winter when I decided to go hunt for a new owner, a "master". He or she had to be innocent, pure… gullible.

The sound of laughter guided me to _him_, the weirdest looking human I had ever seen.

It was time to act.

With my best abandoned kitten eyes and a pitiful meow I got his attention.

Something was different about this… human. He was pure and innocent but more like any other human I had encountered before. He smiled at me and tucked me into his jacket and from that moment, all plans of being a cruel cat-lord drowned in the depth of his vibrant baby blue eyes.

The sea green colored human took me to his "lair" where I met the rest of my new owners.

I learned a lot of things about my new owner with the passing of the days:

His name was Michelangelo-the orange one and he was a giant turtle like his brothers.

He had a giant rat father whose name was Splinter and his brothers were called Leonardo-the blue one, Raphael-the red one and Donatello-the purple one.

I learned that they highly trained ninjas, a strong and united team and an admirable family.

I learned was that ninjas have a dangerous way of living: they fought for their lives, they got injured, and they had to do a lot of things to survive but as long as they were together, they were invincible.

My bitter past was being erased slowly the more I got to know them; they were funny, interesting and they cared about me. Especially the orange one.

He bought me toys and food, he let me eat_ his_ food, let me sleep with him in his bed… and every night, he would tell me how much he loved me and how glad he was to have me in his life. Then he nuzzled my head and said: _"Sweet dreams, ninja kitty. My baby kitten"_

Life was smiling at me again. I was truly happy and I didn't have to be a cruel cat-lord!

Then one night, the orange one dropped me inside someone's apartment.

This part I didn't like at all.

Last owner did the same to me and next thing I knew I was back in the streets because the humans inside that house didn't like cats so they literally kicked me out.

I heard him say the names April and Casey before he jumped off the window.

I was still dizzy from the shots the vet gave me so I didn't understand what was going on, why my owner was…. abandoning me. I started to think the whole loving and caring owner façade was just that: a lie.

I couldn't believe I had been lied to again!

When he came back for me…_if… _he came back for me, I could no longer be nice to him; I had to start acting like the cat-lord and master I am!

A week later someone came back for me. It was the blue one.

He talked to me the whole way to the lair and he didn't sound happy but I wasn't going to be deceived by this, I had to be cat-lord and master and give the orange one a lesson!

Then I saw him.

His chest and arms were covered in bandages; he was so pale he almost looked like… like he was dead.

So many questions, so many things I wanted to say… and no one could understand me.

Great, just great!

I looked at every one in desperation, I needed answers!

The purple one was saying something about some street punks… a fight… guns; the red one pointed at me and yelled it was my fault, that I had distracted the orange one.

There was an argument; the blue one tried to protect me from the red one and then… the orange one woke up.

"_Where is he, where's Klunk? Donnie, where's my baby?!" _He said.

I didn't understand anything and neither did the others. He explained that when we were coming back from the vet, he saw a robbery in progress; one of the thieves had seen me and tried to shoot me but the orange one took the bullet… for me.

He knew they were going to try to shoot me again so he went to the woman's house and dropped me there.

That's the part where I woke up.

Now I understood.

I felt like an idiot! How could I possibly think he… Goddammit! I wanted to cry, I wanted to punch myself for being such a judgmental fool!

I escaped from the blue one's grip and jumped into my owner's arms where I meowed as if I was in pain- and I was- and let my owner nuzzle me and pet me like he did every night.

People who say cats don't care about their owners are 99% right…. because I am the 1% that does care.

I was born a cat-lord, a descendant of royalty and I know what is my place … but I don't know what I'd do if I lost _him_, the orange one. This cat-lord has been enchanted by the kindness and love the orange one… no…_ Mikey…_ the kindness and love_ Mikey_ has showed me.

He has earned a place in my heart no one will ever have.

If my owner was someone else- even you, dear reader- I would act like the cat-lord and master I was born to be.

But it's _him, Mikey_, and I simply cannot treat him the way I'm supposed to.

He's not my human servant.

He's my turtle dad.

**_End of Journal entry N°14_**

* * *

…

…

_**Grumpy Cat says:**_ Cats ARE descendants of royalty. Read a history book for a change, humans!

_**Whoey:**__ *nods*_ But seriously now, in my head this is how I see Klunk reacting to humans, his first thoughts on Mikey and the reason why they are inseparable but if I were a cat, I WOULD be a cruel cat-lord.

Don't judge.


	16. Kitchen hates me-Leo's journal

**_Journal entry N°15- Leo's journal:_**

_**Kitchen hates me**._

Usually when I write something in my journal is meaningful, full of wisdom and all that jazz but this entry is different.

This is more like a rant, a funny story and some kind of weird conclusion at the end so bear with me.

Ready? Here we go.

…

I don't understand why but every time I try to fry, bake, boil or help Mikey with something- _anything! – _disaster is just around the corner.

It's like the kitchen knows I'm around and plots against me!

And don't think I haven't tried- oh, I've tried _a lot_!

You can ask my brother Mikey about my failed cooking lessons; he tried to teach me to the point he lost his patience and chased me around the lair with a butcher knife after a little incident with the oven… and the juicer… and...

Ehem.

The point is now I'm not allowed to get near the kitchen without supervision; only to make some tea or instant soup which, miraculously, has always turned out right.

Other than that? Two words: TOTAL. DISASTER.

You have no idea how frustrating it is to suck at something so essential like cooking! Heck, the fact that _Mikey_ could give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money makes me want to cut off my head.

I'm guessing Sensei was right when he said Michelangelo had hidden talents and natural abilities and made him the family's chef… and I couldn't help but hate myself a little bit every day for not being able to accomplish such "simple" task.

I thought my other two brothers would have the same trouble but no, they succeeded as well. And when we met Casey, guess what! He knew how to cook too!

Everyone I know can cook and I can't?!

Well… now that I think about it… Who can't cook either and it seems that she's also suffered the kitchen's assaults more than once.

Like one day, she attempted to make some soup for Don because he was ill and Mikey was nowhere to be seen.

I think it was comic book day? Can't remember.

Anyway, I was in my room, organizing stuff… and I heard cursing from the kitchen. I went downstairs, ran to the kitchen and I saw the most epic thing in the history of epic things:

Raph was laughing his shell off, there was soup all over the floor and Who was covered in noodles, a yellow dust- I'm gonna say it was some kind of condiment- and chicken bits… from head to toe.

I don't know how but she had managed to make the soup explode before she put it on the stove.

Now, the evil little guy in me wanted to join Raph, roll all over the floor, take pictures, record everything and play it on movie night **BUT** my conscience- you know, the other little guy, the good one- said:

_"Leonardo, look closely and tell me what you see. _

_Don't rush! Don't… rush… take your time. _

_DON'T LAUGH!… Just. Look. Closely"_

I saw her again and BAM! There it was!

The look on her face, that look of disappointment and bottled anger with herself… I had seen it before many times. Still do.

Where, you ask?

In the mirror. Because that's my face every time I fail at something** ESPECIALLY** if it's cooking.

While I had this little chat with my conscience, Raph kept teasing her and laughing like there was no tomorrow.

In the end, she cleaned up, I helped her and Raph went to tell Donnie the news and warned him that her cooking would only make him even sicker.

…

A few days passed; we were done with morning training and everyone went to do their own thing. I haven't talked to Who about the kitchen incident so I was a bit curious.

I followed her to the living room and I said:

"Hey, uh… I probably shouldn't be asking this but remember the soup accident few days ago? What exactly happened? Was it one of Mikey's pranks or something?"

She said:

_"No way, I know better than to fall for one of his pranks. Dude can never catch me. At least most of the time he can't"_

Then I asked:

"Alright, if it wasn't a prank then what was it?"

She chuckled and said:

_"I don't know how to cook, man. I thought I could since I wanted to make Donnie feel better and, you know, good actions and positive thoughts can make anything possible but… I failed"_

She didn't know how to cook?

What?

WHAT!

"Then what the heck where you doing in the kitchen? You could've hurt yourself! What if the soup was boiling when you dropped it or made it explode or whatever!"

Who was still chuckling when she came close to me and gave me a pat on the shell.

_"Relax, Leo! I just wanted to see if my luck had changed after those lessons I took years ago but ends up the kitchen hates me. Simple as that"_

Could that kitchen be cursed or something so it could detect who sucked at cooking and who didn't and made their lives impossible?

Ok that was ridiculous.

Anyway, we kept talking and she told me to chill, that we would always have family to feed us and that I shouldn't feel bad about it!

Everyone has their weak spots and I guess cooking is mine. And Who's.

It didn't make me feel a hundred percent better- curse my stubbornness- but at least I learned to not be so hard on myself; I mean I could still make instant soup and tea.

That's something.

She agreed and laughed, so did I. And then she said:

_"Imagine if we were to live alone, like those just married young couples, none of us knows a thing about cooking so we would have to live of tea and soup. Crazy huh?"_

She hadn't even stopped talking and I was already hearing the Twilight Zone theme song in my head and I'm gonna take a wild guess and say she was hearing it too because all that previous laughter?

Zero. Gone. No more.

Wow, talk about awkward.

I guess there's no real message here; I can only say if you're bad at something and you already tried it a bazillion times and saw no progress?

Don't freak out, don't get angry and don't let frustration kill your organs. You can either keep trying or you can call it quits and try something else!

Who knows, maybe you'll succeed.

As for me? I'll just have to accept that kitchen hates me.

Simple as that.

_**End of Journal entry N°15**_

* * *

_…_

_…_

_Laid back Leo is a rare specimen … ._. I must hunt him and study him._

_Yeah._


	17. A techy's rant-Don's entry

_**Journal entry N°16- Don's journal:**_

_**A techy's rant.**_

Technology and I are inseparable; I knew that the moment I successfully repaired a small radio with the first toolbox Sensei got me for my birthday at the age of seven.

I know, I know, that's not normal at all.

Most kids at that age are still playing with toy cars or Barbie's while watching SpongeBob SquarePants but let's face it: a talking mutated turtle kid is not exactly _normal_.

In a way I have to thank Master Splinter; he noticed my _'special gift'_ and brought me toys that needed a quick fix so I could practice, you know, nothing too dangerous for me to handle… although I did get my hands on electrical stuff every now and then.

What can I say, I was a curious kid.

As I got older, my love and fascination with technology grew stronger and stronger: I went from repairing pocket radios to repairing televisions and stereos; from radio controlled cars to discarded Game Boy's; from beside lamps to the lair's entire electrical system. And I was just twelve.

I'm not trying to brag or anything.

Ok, maybe a little.

By the time I turned fifteen I had a few inventions of my own; I've worked on so many projects I had to make a list just to remember them and this is just with regular, in development Earth tech! Don't even get me started on Utrom, Triceraton and future tech.

Ok, you'd think that after this résumé of my marvelous tech skills… (Geez, I sound like Stockman)… I wouldn't have any problem with technology at all, right?

**Wrong!**

There's one small, annoying, devilish, silver piece of metal has became my most hated enemy and it's the cause of 45% of my nervous breakdowns.

The other 55% is thanks to my brothers and our enemies.

When my brothers managed to destroy it the first time, I thought it'd be pretty easy to rebuild but after a few failures and burnt fingertips I finally did it: I had repaired it.

It was working well for a couple of hours… and then Raph impaled it with his sai.

The term _fratricide_ is not one I use on a daily basis but at the sight of the poor thing destroyed by my feet that word just popped into my thoughts in big, bold red letters.

Now, I consider myself a very patient guy- almost as much as Master Splinter- the only difference between Sensei and me is our reactions when we reach our breaking point.

He's firm yet calm; reprimanding yet understanding.

Me? I turn into The Hulk.

No, seriously! I do!

I think the creators of Bruce Banner must have built a time machine, went into the future to study future me and his reactions then they came back and boom! Introducing: The Hulk!

I think I don't have to explain more, I made my point already: I have a horrible temper when I'm pissed off.

Why am I saying this, you ask?

Well, as time passed, we continued clashing with those little devils and while I kept collecting and repairing them my brothers kept destroying them! They knew I had projects to work on, they knew I had a tight schedule and I didn't have time for small shenanigans but they always managed to find a new way to destroy the damn thing!

God dammit, I just don't get it! We've made a lot of technological progress, research and such… but we can't find a way to make this thing indestructible!

But then again, even if that happened someday my brothers would find a way to destroy it anyway.

Oh well… a turtle can dream, I guess.

A turtle can dream.

**_End of Journal entry N°16_**

* * *

…

…

Don's wish is for humans to make sturdier toasters. *sighs*


End file.
